I'll Be Here
by OptimusMFPrime
Summary: Maura hates school so hard. The kids are mean, and the classes aren't challenging enough.. One Jane Rizzoli makes an effort to befriend her. T for language.. For now.
1. I'm Not Everyone

_**A/N: So I was in class daydreaming again. And I had this dream about me meeting Maura in science class, and so this is how it started…**_

_Maura has been attending this school since she started school. She hates it here, the kids are mean and the classes aren't challenging enough. She lives in the poor part of Boston, though her father is nowhere near poor. His business is what keeps them here. It's the 2__nd__ day of school and Maura gets out of her father's car._

"Goodbye sweetie." _He says._

"Goodbye father."

"Have a great day."

"You too."

_He rolls up the black tinted windows on his car and leaves. _

_She sits on the bench outside of school; she's not going into that place until she needs to. She opens a book and began to read until she hears the bell ring. _

_She sighs, and walks into school. Her head hanging down, but watching the floor to make sure she didn't bump anyone. She didn't like to draw unnecessary attention to herself._

_She went to her locker and headed to Algebra, she was the first and only one in there. The teacher hadn't even arrived yet._

_10 minutes passed and the class was full. She kept staring into her lap, her long honey blonde hair covering both sides of her face. She jumped, feeling a tap on her shoulder._

"Can I sit here?"

_She didn't look up, she just simply answered. "_Yes."

"Thanks."

_The girl sat, and Maura could smell her. She smelled like lavender, maybe it was her shampoo, or maybe it was body oil. Maura hadn't needed to look up to know who the girl was. She knew the only person with a voice like that, was one Jane Rizzoli. They had only spoken in kindergarten when Jane was eating glue like the every other kid in their class except Maura. She sat next to Maura then too, Maura informed her that she really shouldn't be consuming glue, and that's the only conversation they'd had besides this one._

_There was only 8 minutes left in class when everyone started packing up to leave._

"Hey.."

_Maura only looked up, and then back down. Jane could tell that she was shy._

"What's your name?"

"You know my name.. Don't pretend you don't hear everyone call me Maura The Bora."

"Hey, I'm not everyone. I for one do not call you Maura The Bora.."

"Why don't you?"

"I am not a fan of nicknames, because they used to call me names too. I just lost weight and got stronger; no one fucks with me now."

_Maura didn't reply._

"Look, I wouldn't mess with you. You seem like a really cool person. You don't bother anyone, people are just jealous of you, that's all."

"Cool." _Her brows furrowed. "_Cool, I am not. And people have nothing to be jealous about."

"You're cool because you're honest to yourself, you're not a clone like everyone seems to be. And yes they do. You're like a genius. I saw you today, you finished the problems before the teacher did. I noticed it last year, and the year before that, and so on. You're smart, even when we were in kindergarten, everyone would be eating glue, but not you. And you're gorgeous by the way, I don't know if you've seen yourself, and your hair is like perfect all the fucking time!"

_Maura gave a soft smile, she could read Jane's face to see if she was lying or not, but she wasn't comfortable enough to look up, so she picked a spot on the table and stared at it._

"Thank you." _She said softly. Waiting to see if Jane would call her friends and say something like: "Hey guys! She fell for it. She actually thinks I noticed her." Because that had happened before. For Maura only to be in the 8__th__ grade, she sure had to put up with a lot of crap from people._

"You're welcome." _She smiled. "_I'm Jane by the way." _She tried to look at Maura's face, but Maura turned to the side. "_Maura, you're beautiful, seriously. You should show your face more." _Maura picked up her head when she heard the sincerity in Jane's voice. "_See there we go, almost." _She turned around and looked at Jane, so that they were no face to face. "_Woah!" _Jane exclaimed._

_Maura quickly put her head back down._

"No, Maura. No, it's just your eyes. I don't know, they're fucking beautiful. I always thought your eyes were like green, but I was completely wrong. Brown, gold, green. That is fucking amazing." _Maura lifted her head up once again. "_Boom… You just blew my mind."

_Maura laughed softly._

"That's what I like to hear."

"Why, why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because you're letting me." _She shrugged. "_And I don't know, I kinda like you, always have I guess, I find you intriguing. Probably didn't have the balls to talk to you until now, because I'm just in an 'I don't give a fuck, you only have one life to live' mood today. You're not like the rest of the girls at this god forsaken place. I find it refreshing. And I know how it feels to need a break, when you feel like you haven't gotten one in years. I think you're cool, I also say you should just say fuck what everyone else says about you. Just ignore the, because they don't know you"

_Maura started blushing, and her cheeks started to turn red, and Jane hadn't missed it._

"I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. I promise, it's just my personality. You'll get used to it, eventually, maybe, nah, probably not… But Maura, if you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask me. Whether you need your locker opened, you want to copy my homework because you didn't do yours…" _Jane laughed, because she knew Maura always did her homework. "_..If you want to sit with me at lunch or if you just want to talk."

_The bell rung and the class started to get up. Maura and Jane stood up at the same time and Jane extended her hand for Maura to take. Maura was hesitant because she thought when she reached out Jane would pull her hand back. But she thought 'what the hell' and grabbed Jane's hand. _

_A shock ran through their bodies at the contact, both of them jumped, but they didn't let their hands go._

_They shook "_Anything Maura Isles, I mean it." _They let their hands drop and left from the classroom. _

_Maura kept playing the scene in her head throughout the day, wondering if that had really happened, or if her imagination had really gotten the best of her._

_**A/N: I honestly have no idea where this story is going, I just make it up as I go, I don't think before I write, I just let it flow while I'm typing.. I might make it only a few chapters, but idk. I just started writing in like 4 months ago, and I haven't doing much of it. So PLEASE, tell me if you think it sucks, or tell me if you think I should keep going, because I don't think I can decide myself.. I'm so indecisive it makes no sense.**_


	2. Must Be A Dream

_Jane was up all night replaying everything she had said to Maura in her head, thinking about what she could have done differently to make that conversation go better. She knew Maura was shy and a bit mistrusting of the fellow students, but she also knew Maura had a right to be. She wasn't going to give up on trying to be Maura's friend._

_The next day Maura woke up with a slight grin on her face. "She said she liked me." Maura smiled to herself. She got up and got ready for school like usual. Today was going to be a better day, she hated school, but she hated it a bit less now._

_She waved bye to her father's assistant because her dad was on a 'business trip' and he couldn't take her._

_She sat outside and continued to read the book she had started yesterday. The bell rung and she went into the school. Today her head didn't hang as low. She went to her locker and grabbed her math book, and headed to class._

"Look whose here early like always, Maura the Bora. Fucking nerd." _Joe said, his group of friends that came in with him laughing._

_Jane and Barry came in pushing each other. "_Stop Frost, before I end you." _She laughed._

"Yeah right Rizzoli, as if." _He took his seat and she took hers._

"Hey Maura."

"Hello Jane."

_Jane put her fist up to fist bump Maura, but Maura looked confused._

"Okay. We're not there yet.."

_When the teacher finished everyone packed up as quickly as possible._

"I fucking hate algebra!" _Joey said._

"Because you're fucking dumb." _Someone said loudly, but covered their mouth with their hand, so the teacher couldn't understand._

"Who said that!?" _He exclaimed._

_The whole class laughed except Jane and Maura._

"Hey Maura, I know what you think.. You think I'm pretending to be nice to you. I'm not though, I don't have anything malicious planned. I only have good intentions up my sleeve. I hope you can see that I'm being honest."

"I saw that you made a 54 on your test."

"Yeah algebra really isn't my thing."

"I could, I could help you… If you want." _Still not looking at Jane._

"Would you really!?"

"If you want, yes."

"I don't want you to think that was my intention all along. I was honestly just being nice, I wasn't trying to use you for algebra help."

"Okay."

"Okay? So you'll help me?"

"Yes."

"Great, when do you want to do it? I mean when do you want to do umm.. the algebra thingy."

"Well, my father really doesn't let me out of the house besides going to school, and shopping. So you could come to my house. I'll give you the address."

"Okay."

_Jane thought it was weird the way Maura said her father didn't let her leave out of the house, but she was trying to be her friend, not offend her, so she didn't even ask._

"So, you're in the chess club?"

"I am. You're on the basketball team?"

"And the field hockey team, maybe I'll come to one of your matches."

"Maybe I'll come to one of your games." _Maura smiled._

"See there we go.. I'm coming again, brace yourself, it's coming, no stopping it." _She put her fist back up once again. This time Maura bumped it. Jane pulled back "_Poosshh.." _As she waved her fingers. "_It's coming back." _She slapped Maura's hand in a low five fashion. "_There we go. Officially friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah, friends. If you wanna be friends with me, that is."

"Yes."

"Good... Friends Rizzles style."

"Rizzles?"

"Rizzoli and Isles."

_The bell rung and they left the class together. Maura was at her locker when Joey approached._

"Hey Bora."

_She didn't answer him, she continued what she was doing. _

"You know, you're cute." _He took his hand and brushed the hair from her face._

"Please leave me alone." _She said in a soft voice._

"What I thought you liked me, Bora?" _He moved closer getting as close as possible to her._

"No, I don't."

_He laughed. "_Oh, right.. You're a lesbo, I saw you and Gayzzoli talking."

"We were just having a conversation."

"Right." _He brought his mouth down to her ear and whispered. "I know you like Rizzoli. I can tell, but she'll only use you. You should date me, I'm deeper than that." He put his hand on her waist, and she tensed up. _

_Jane was walking to her next class when she saw Maura's discomfort. "_Leave her alone Joe."

"Mind your business Rizzoli."

"She's my friend, she is my business. Clearly you're upsetting her, and making her uncomfortable, just leave her alone."

"She's not gay Rizzoli, she doesn't like you."

"I never said she was, and I never said she did. I said she was my friend." _Jane closed Maura's locker, almost catching Joey's hand. She grabbed Maura's hand and pulled her away. "_You okay?"

"Thank you." _She smiled._

"No problem, that's what friends are for, right? What's your next class?"

"Science."

"Mine too, my schedule got changed this morning." _Jane noticed she was still holding Maura's hand, so she dropped it softly and smiled. "_Sorry."

"It's fine." _She smiled._

_They were partners in science class, and talked for most of the free time in there._

_Jane was sitting at lunch when she saw Maura come in, she stopped eating and just stared._

_Frost nudged her. "_You're staring, Jane."

"Shut up." _She said, still looking at Maura._

"You got the hots for her Jane?" _Everyone in the school thought Jane was bi, or gay. Only Frost knew for a fact that her sexuality was deeper than that. Not as simple as girl and boy, she really went for personality, no matter if they were in a male body or a female body, not that she's even dated someone before._

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! She's so beautiful."

"Well ask her out then."

_She turned her head to Frost finally. _"I want to be her friend first. She's never had a friend, and I don't want her to think I'm using her for anything. And I don't even know if she likes me like that."

_Maura sat down at a table alone. Her eyes met Jane's, and Jane waved her over. She didn't move though. Jane stood up. "_I'll be back." _She strutted over to Maura._

"Maura, I thought we talked about this."

"Yes, we have."

"No need to be shy." _She grabbed Maura's tray and stood up. "_C'mon."

_Maura followed Jane to the table. Jane sat Maura's tray down and slid her tray from the other side so she was sitting next to Maura now instead of Frost._

"Maura, this is Frost. Frost, Maur."

"Nice to meet you Frost."

"Nice to meet you too." _He put his fist out for Maura to bump, the same as Jane had did earlier. She accepted. "_Any friend of Jane is a friend of mine."

"Yeah I've known Frost since pre-school. We go way back." _They all laughed._

"Yeah Jane's my best bro." _Jane playfully punched his arm._

_They finished lunch and headed back to class. The rest of the day went by pretty fast. They didn't have 3__rd__ period together but they had 4__th __together._

_At the end of the day Jane walked to Maura's locker, and Jane was beaming. "_So the address."

"Oh yes." _She tried to pull out a pen, but Jane stopped her._

"Here, just put it in my phone."

_She typed the address, and her number in and Jane looked at it._

"Rich people's side of town." _Maura's face dropped a little. "_Sweet!" _Her smile reappeared. So many people thought she was snobby because of where she lived, she was glad Jane hadn't. "_So tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."_ She smiled._

"Have a great Friday, Maur. "

"You too Jane." "_Maur? She gave me a nickname." Maura thought to herself. She left the building with a huge smile on her face. Two friends in one day, this must be a dream, or a cruel prank. Her smile faded as she thought about the latter possibility. She sighed deeply and got into her father's car. _


	3. SWAG

_Maura woke up that evening and panicked. Jane was coming at 3:00p.m, and it was already 12, she had overslept. She ate a bagel, showered and dressed. It was 2; she tried on almost every outfit at least once, some outfits twice._

_Jane woke up at 1, sleeping was one of her favorite pastimes, but not today. She ran for the shower, and quickly got dressed. She put her hair up into a ponytail, and ate leftover pizza._

_She pulled out her phone and called Maura, trying to even her breathing… It rang 2 times before she picked up, her heart almost stopped._

"_Oh my god, it's probably Jane. Calm yourself, telephone voice activate." She said before answering. "Hello."_

"_Hey Maura, its Jane.. Are we still on for today?"_

"_Of course."_

"_I'll be there in 30."_

"_Okay."_

"_Alright, bye."_

"_Bye._

_Jane had her mom drive her across town to Maura's house._

"I should probably meet her parents." _Angela said before trying to get out of the car._

_Jane grabbed her arm stopping her. "_Don't Ma. Her dad is really busy."

"And her mother?"

"I don't know really, but people used to say that her mom died."

"Oh, that's sad."

"Yes, please, just go.. I'll be fine Ma."

"You seem very trusting over someone you barely know."

"Maura's sweet mom, she's really nice, she's pretty funny at times, she's really shy, and she's a genius. I like her, she's cool."

"If you're certain."

"I am." _She left the car and closed the door. "_Thanks Ma."

_She walked to the door and rang the doorbell. When Maura opened the door, she turned around to her mother, telling her she could leave._

"Hey Maur."

"Hello Jane, please come in."

_She opened the door wider, letting Jane enter, and shut and locked the door behind her. Twisting and turned a series of locks, up and down the door._

"Are you kidnapping me?" _Jane joked._

"No, of course not. My father is very strict, precautious, and protective."

"Is he here?"

"Not at the moment, no." _She gave a soft smile. "_We should start I guess."

"Right, where?"

"We're going to my room, this way." _She led Jane up the stairs and they entered her room._

"Your house is awesome!" _Jane exclaimed._

"It's alright." _She opened the textbook and started the lesson._

_30 minutes later.._

"Okay so 2x+10= 100."

_Jane scribbled on her paper for a short while._

"Subtract the 10… Divide by 2.." _She mumbled to herself. "_45!"

"Yes, see it's very easy."

"You're right it is. Another one!"

"Okay.. Um.. 10x – 4x + 2 = 20."

_Jane scribbled a bit, and erased a few times. "3?"_

"Yes, that's correct."

"Oh my gaah, I feel smart."

"You're very intelligent, Jane."

"Then why couldn't I do this before?"

"Everyone learns a different way." _She shrugged._

"Yeah, I prefer the way you taught it to me. Thank you so much!"

"No problem Jane."

"Maura.. Can I ask you something?"

"Uhh.. Sure." _She hated when questions start like that._

"Do you consider me and you as friends, like real friends?"

"You and I" _She corrected. "_I can only base our relationship on the ones I see at school, and the ones I see on television. I've never had a friend before, but this is very much like friendships I see."

"So.. Is that a yes?"

"I suppose it is." _She smiled, they held a gaze for a moment and then they both jumped at the sound of someone at the door._

"That must be my father." _She and Jane walked down the stairs and Maura looked through the peephole. She opened the door after unlocking every last lock._

"Hey sweetheart." _He said kissing her forehead._

"Hey daddy." _He came in, a few men behind him._

_One slapped Maura's hand. "_What's up sugah."

"Nothing much, Johnny."

"Maura." _Another extended his leg reaching Maura's extended one, they grabbed hands and when into a circle. _

"Don."

_The last one picked Maura up, and twirled her around. Jane could tell that this didn't happen on a daily basis because of the way Maura squealed. "_Sit me down, Jimmy." _She managed to get out. He sat her down, and grabbed her shoulders, letting her recollect her dizzy self._

"Whose dis?" _Johnny asked._

"This is my friend, Jane."

"Your friend or your friend-friend?" _He teased and winked._

"Uhh.. She's my frien…"

"..Sup kid_." Jimmy interrupted._

"Nothing much. Cooling." _She answered calmly_.

"Oh, this kid is the definition of swag, Maura. SWAG. I say we keep her." _He teased as he went to the door locking it, two locks at a time._

"They're kidding, Jane. Let's go back up. You first." _She waited until Jane got up the steps before she playfully pushed both Jimmy and Johnny. "_You guys!"

"Secretly we are gay, Maura... Secretly we are gay…" _Johnny whispered as Maura made her way back up the stairs. She turned around glaring at him before sticking her tongue out. She went in her room and closed the door._

_Jane was pacing around. "_Paddy Doyle is your father!" _She exclaimed._

"_He _is, yes."

"Wow.."

_Maura sat on her bed, watching Jane pace._

"But your last name is Isles."

"It is."

"How?"

"My father, he wanted me to be safe, Doyle is not a very common name, especially not in Boston. He met this woman, while my mom was in college, this art professor. She inspired him, amazed him. So he gave me that last name. He says she was a fantastic artist, and a very kind woman, beautiful, intriguing, though a bit emotionally detached to everything. He wanted to see those qualities in me when I grew up."

"Your father wants you to be emotionally detached?"

"He does. He knows what kind of world it is, were heartbreak causes suffering, and hurt feelings, and depression causes suicide, and self-hurt. He says he would rather me not have emotions than have them and be hurt."

"But you are not emotionally detached, I can tell."

"No.. No, I'm not. I'm a bit too sensitive to be quite honest."

"I like you the way you are." _She said softly, and offered Maura a smile. "_Why are you so comfortable around them, but not at school?"

"They're my family, well my social family. I've known them since before I can remember. I love them, and they're very protective over me, smothering even. But I love them even more for it."

"I would have never guessed that Paddy Doyle was your father.."

"..Jane, please don't tell anyone.."

_They heard a car horn. "_My, my mom's outside. I have to go."

_She walked Jane down the stairs and opened up the door. "_Bye, Maura."

_She sighed. "_Goodbye, Jane."

_She shut the door, and rested on it, sliding to the bottom of it, her knees to her chest. She thought she had probably just lost the only friend she thought she'd ever have, because of her father. She was not ashamed of him, but she hated what he did, even though she wasn't quite certain what it was, but she knew it wasn't good. And that had just cost her a potential best friend. She closed her eyes, as she felt them start to burn. A hot tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it off. She relocked the door, and headed to her room, alone. Like's she's been forever, she was used to being alone, but it felt good to have someone her own age around for a change._

_She lay on her back in the bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about what had just happened and how it would affect her when Jane told everyone. She felt as though someone had punched her in the gut. Another hot tear rolled down her cheek as she lay in her bed, this one she didn't even bother to wipe. _


	4. Have You?

_Jane got into her mother's car, and stayed quiet. "_Jane, how did it go?"

"It went."

"Are you okay, you're quieter than usual?"

"Just thinking, taking in some things."

_She rethought dating Maura. She liked Maura, a lot, probably more than she should for someone she just started getting to know 2 days ago. She imagined what Maura's father would do if she hurt her, she thought about what her father would do if he found out they were dating. _

"_I'm getting ahead of myself. For one, I don't even know if she likes me that way. I would never hurt her though, not intentionally. She wouldn't let her father hurt me, because she's way too nice for that." She thought to herself and sighed. "I'm stressing myself."_

_She went home ate dinner and slept._

…_Monday approached and Maura dreaded it. She stepped from her father's car, and sat in her usual spot until the bell rung._

_She headed into the building and went directly to her locker._

"Hey."

"Hello Frost." _She sounded a bit sad_.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking though." _She offered a smile._

_They walked to class together, and they weren't the first people there. A few people were in the back and Jane was in her seat, doing the bellringer._

_She sighed and took her seat next to Jane._

"Hey, Maur."

"Hi, Jane."

"See, we've grown.. Hi isn't as formal as hello, you're becoming more comfortable around me." _Jane smiled._

"I suppose so." _It came out a bit gloomy._

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"Yeah, it is. Is this about what happened Saturday?" _Jane questioned._

_Maura didn't respond._

"You know I haven't told anyone right.. I would never do that. You asked me not to, anyways, it's not my secret to tell." _Jane said, she was a bit sad that Maura hadn't trusted her, but she tried not to show it. She shouldn't be that upset about it, they had just become friends._

"Not even Frost?"

"Frost is my bro, yes. But, he doesn't have to know everything. It's not like I'm lying to him, it's your business, if or when you want to tell him, that's when he'll find out.

"I'm sorry Jane; I should've trusted you a bit more. It's just hard."

"Trust me I know, trusting people is not an easy thing to do."

_Maura smiled, relieved that Jane had understood._

"Thanks for understanding."

"It's fine, I get it.. But check this out." _She slid her paper over to Maura. "_Boom!" _She did a gesture with her hands. "_Finished. All by myself. You really helped me a lot Maur, I can't thank you enough." _She slid the paper back her way after Maura looked at it._

"Jane, you only needed a little help. You pretty much already knew what you were doing."

"Let's go out?"

"What?" _She didn't know if Jane was asking her out, or if she was asking her to go out somewhere._

"Let me take you out, to a restaurant or something. You helped me so much, even if you don't realize it." _She gave her best sad puppy_ eyes. "Please?"

"Okay.. For a minute there I thought you were asking me to date you."

"Geez Maur, stop flirting with me. I haven't even taken you on a date yet, and you're already asking me out." _Jane said sarcastically and winked at her._

_Maura shyly smiled, her cheeks flushed red from embarrassment._

"I was being sarcastic, Maur."

_She tilted her head to the side. _"Using irony to convey contempt?"

_Jane sighed. _"Are you trying to drive me crazy?"

_Maura thought for a moment. "_No." _They both laughed._

_The rest of the class period went by pretty fast. They left from the class together._

_Jane went to Maura's locker as she got her things._

"It's fine, Jane." _Frost spoke._

"What's fine?"

"You ditching me." _Jane opened her mouth to speak but he put his hand up. He kept his hand up and spoke in a Jersey accent. "_Whateva." _His voice went back to normal. "_I have a girlfriend now, so I won't need your company anyway."

"Aww.. My little Frostie pooh is growing up." _She teased and grabbed his cheeks._

_He slapped her hands playfully. "_Ow!"

"Oh stop it, that didn't hurt." _He turned his head to the side. "_Here she comes."

"Oh she's pretty." _Jane said._

_Maura turned from her locker to see just who they were looking at. "_She is." _Maura added._

"Hey Jane, keep your boxers on, Maura keep your panties on. She's mine. You two have each other."

_Jane punched him in the arm. "_Ow! What was that for?"

"You don't know that I wear boxers."

_Both Frost and Maura gave her a 'yeah right' look._

"Shut up both of you."

_They laughed and bumped fists. Jane slapped their hands in the process. "_Nuh, uh." _She said, shaking her head._

_They all turned around and smiled at the girl walking towards them. "_Hey Barold."

"Barold.." _Maura whispered. Jane laughed softly._

"Hey Riley." _He kissed her cheek. "_These are my friends, Jane." _He gestured to Jane. ".._And Maura." _He pointed to Maura._

_Jane put her hand out, and Riley reached to grab it but Frost stopped her_. "No, that one bites." _He joked._

"Shut up, Barrrold." _She pounded Riley's fist instead this time, because it was faster._

_Maura put her fist out also, something she had become accustomed to. Riley pounded it._

"I was tired of being the 3rd wheel anyway. It's uncomfortable being around you two, making bedroom eyes at each other."

_He grabbed Riley's hand and pulled her to an unknown destination._

_They looked at each other. "_Bedroom eyes?" _They said simultaneously, shrugged and headed to their next class._

"I'm happy for him; he has never had a girlfriend before. If you thought he was happy before, look at him now."

"Have you?"

"Have I what?"

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"What makes you think I like girls?"

"I'm sorry.. I just…"

"..It's fine, most people do." _She shrugged. "_But no, I've never had a boyfriend or a girlfriend before, I guess I'm really comfortable on my own, you know. Plus we're only 13, you and I have plenty of time to date… Umm.. I mean.. To date people, you know, there's no rush." "_Great Rizzoli, you might as well confess your feeling now, gahh. I have to start thinking before I speak." Jane thought._

"_She LIKES girs!" Maura beamed. "Well I guess I figured, but my theory is confirmed. She probably doesn't like me though." Her smile faded a bit, and she looked over to Jane._ "_She's kind of cute when she's seriously thinking about something and even cuter when she's embarrassed or flustered." Maura sighed._

_Jane turned around to look at her. "_What's going on in that big brain of yours?"

"Probably just over-thinking and overanalyzing something." _She replied with a small smile._

"That's something we have in common." _She softly nudged Maura's elbow with her own and shot her the famous Rizzoli smile. _


	5. Misanthropy With Friends Is Better

_**A/N: I don't know where this story will go. I'm not going to promise anything.. But I'm going to try my best to keep it going until their BPD days.**__** :)**_

_Over the past year, and 5 months Jane and Maura were practically inseparable. Maura was a lot more comfortable at school, no one really messed with her anymore because she was Jane and Frost's friend now, and everybody knew Jane and Frost. _

_A lot of people wanted to be friends with her now, the people who had made fun of her before, but she didn't need them, Jane, Frost, and Riley were all the friends she needed. Freshman year would be one of her best years._

_Jane and Maura were heading to lunch when Joey Grant showed up, and the halls were emptier than a jar of Nutella_.

"Well, if it isn't Gayzzoli, and Is Les."

"Shut up Joe, don't you get tired of fucking with people all the time. I mean we're in high school now. It's time to grow up." _Jane said calmly._

"Or what?" _He taunted._

_She sighed. _"Nothing, I won't waste my energy and time on you, you aren't worth it." _He stepped closer to Jane stepped_. "Don't."

"Rizzoli, I don't like you. One day I'll kick your ass."

"No, I don't think you will. I suggest you back up."

"Okay, let me talk to Maura then." _Jane glared, but didn't move_. "I just want to talk to her." _He moved to the side trying to get in front of Maura, but Jane stepped in front of him again._

"She doesn't want to talk to you. She doesn't like you."

"Of course you would know that.. Jane you're smothering her, let me talk to your girlfriend."

_She just ignored him calling Maura her girlfriend. It wasn't true, but she liked the idea of someone calling Maura that, it kind of gave her a little hope, even if it was fucking Joe Grant. _

_She turned around to Maura._ "You wanna talk to him, Maur?"

_Maura shook her head._

"There you go." _She and Maura began to walk to lunch again when he grabbed Jane's wrist_. "I told you, don't_." She snatched her hand from Joey's grasp, and shoved him, he stumbled back a little. _"Don't put your fucking hands on me Joe, I swear."

"Joseph, we would both appreciate if you would just leave us alone. We have done nothing to you. Please don't put your hands on her." _Maura finally spoke._

"Leave you alone, I won't. You two are just too cute to resist. Big bad Rizzoli protecting little sweet Maura, it's cute really." _He smirked and pushed Jane into Maura. Jane fell to the ground and landed on her butt._

"Don't!" _She warned, and glared at him, before helping Jane up. Jane was about to pounce on him, but Maura grabbed her arm, and ran her hand up and down it. "_You're okay." _Maura said in a low tone, and that stopped Jane. Maura grabbed Jane's hand and started pulling her._

_He walked over to Maura and pushed her by the shoulder from behind, she was like a brick wall, the push hadn't made her go anywhere, and he tried again, harder this time. She stumbled a little letting Jane's hand go, then she turned around pulling her arm back a bit, gathering some needed strength. She punched him, nearly knocking him off of his feet, blood in the corner of his mouth._

_Jane turned around as she heard the impact. _"Fuck yeah, Maur!" _Jane yelled before punching him as well, this time he fell. His nose was bloody from both hits._

"Leave us alone Joseph, or I swear you'll be sorry." _Maura warned through gritted teeth, as her and Jane walked to their next class._

_Jane walked backwards, seeing Joe get up. "_Next time, I'll be deadly serious next time." _Jane squinted her eyes, and pointed her finger._ "I'm gonna pounce on your ass and beat your face in Joe. And I'm not fucking kidding. Don't touch me, and you damn well better not touch Maura."

_Jane turned around, and waited until Joe was out of sight to drop her mug. She smiled hugely and jumped up in the air, adrenaline running through her body._

"Maur! That was fuckin' awesome. I didn't think you had it in you."

"Oh, you didn't?" She smirked.

"No, that was nice.."

"My father taught me how to defend myself, if need be. He's the only person I've ever really hit, let's just hope we don't get into trouble."

"That guy is trouble… And, well I have to say that, my friend, was unexpected. You're officially Maura the Badass Isles in my book! That was incredible." _She raised her hands, welcoming Maura to a two hand high 5_. "Wooh. We kick ass together!"

_Maura laughed, and_ _shrugged_. "That's what friends are for... Or at least that's what you say friends are for."

_They put their left hand on their chests, and repeated. _"Kicking the asses of well deserving Homo sapiens is always better, when friends are there to cheer you on. Misanthropy with friends, is better than misanthropy alone." _They dropped their hands and broke out into a fit of laughter._

_Jane grabbed Maura's pinky in her own and they walked to lunch, something they usually did now._

…_.._

_Jane and Maura got to the lunch table, and were surprised to see that Riley and Frost were already there, and were kissing._

"Vomit. Get a room." _Jane said._

"This is a room, a lunchroom." _He broke off the kiss to say._

"Yes, and there are children around Frost, you're going to make all of them lose their appetite."

"Shut it, Rizzoli." _He smirked before eating his lunch. "_Who are you going to the Christmas party with? Julie invited everyone, and you have to have a date to go."

"Casey asked me, so did Dean, and about 6 other guys, and one girl, but I don't know who I'm gonna go with, if I even go."

"What about you Maurapooh?"

"Ian has asked, and so have Giovanni, two girls, and 5 other guys."

"You are not going to the party with Gi!"

"I never said I was, I said he asked_." She smirked, happy that Jane was a bit jealous._ _Maura shrugged. "_I might not go. I hate social events, and social interactions." _She put the fork in the salad and then into her mouth, watching everyone's face at the table drop. "_Besides you guys of course, I love you guys." _She smiled._

"We love you, Maurapooh!" _All three of them screamed in unison._

_And everyone in the lunchroom looked over to their table, before they started back eating._

"They see us vibing." _Jane started._

_Everyone joined in. "_They hating. Patrolling, they tryna catch us riding nerdy."

_They all laughed. _

"Man, we have a song or an anthem for everything." _Frost said._

"We're awesome, that's why." _Jane said._

_A boy walked up to their table, black medium hair, with blue on the ends, black skinny jeans, and a Led Zeppelin shirt. "_Umm.. Can I sit here?"

"Yeah bro." _Frost said._

"You can sit wherever you like, dude." _Jane added._

_He nodded and sat. "_Thanks, no one else would let me sit at their tables."

"They don't own any tables, they're jerks." _Riley said._

"Fuck them. You can sit here whenever you want." _Jane said._

"Thanks."

"By the way, we're the best people you'll ever meet, dude. We're nothing like them." _Frost said._

"And I, for one.." _She put her hand on her chest. "_...think you're awesome already. Led Zeppelin is like my fav band." _She stuck a fry into her mouth._

_He smiled. "_Mine too."

"And your hair… I like it." _Maura added._

"Thank you, I'm Jason."

"I'm Jane." _She pointed to Maura. "_This is Maur." _She pointed across the table. "_This is Frost, and his girlfriend Riley."

"Well, you can call me Jace then."

"Cool."

_The 5 talked all lunch period, and headed back to their classes._

"Wait, you said two girls asked you_?" Jane just recalled._

"I did_."_

"Since when have you liked girls_?"_

"I never said I did, I said 2 girls asked, didn't say I was interested. But, yes I'm quite interested in females_."_

"You're a lesbian_?" Jane asked with wide eyes._

"I'm attracted to males also_."_

"Umm huh_.." It wasn't really question, it was a statement, but it was filled with curiosity, to inform Maura that she needed to further explain, elaborate._

"I am not homosexual, Jane_… She tilted her head to the side thinking, then shook it and waved her hand dismissing her comments. _"I don't like titles. I don't judge, boy or girl is fine with me, body parts don't make the person, the spirit does_."_

_Jane furrowed her brow in confusion. "_Whaa_?"_

"Did you have a choice to be male or female_?"_

"No_." Jane responded, still confused as to where this question was going._

"I just don't think there's a reason you shouldn't date anyone because of the body parts, and sexual organs they may or may not have. Same goes with ethnicity, or nationality, you shouldn't judge someone for their skin color, it's ignorant I believe. You can't choose your physical attributes, you know, how you look on the outside. But you can choose what's on the inside. Someone who has a beautiful spirit is simply beautiful in my opinion; no matter what gender, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity that person is_." _

_Jane stared at her with her mouth agape. "_Thank you, Mahatma Gandhi_."_

_Maura smirked. _

"I've known you for over a year now, how didn't this ever come up_?" Jane asked_

_Maura just shrugged._

"Let's not go to the party." _Jane shrugged._

_Maura scooped up Jane's hand in her own, and Jane rested her head on Maura's shoulder. "_We can have a sleepover instead, if you want."

"Great, your house or mine?"

"Mine of course. I wouldn't say let's have a sleepover, and then invite myself to your house, that's utterly rude, and pushy."

_Jane smiled. "_Aww.. You're so considerate." _She lifted her head, it became hard for her to walk with her head resting on Maura's shoulder._

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

_Jane squeezed her hand. "_So… December 22, 2012, Jane and Maura Rizzles ride!"

"We shall."

_Jane let Maura's hand go, and opened the classroom door allowing Maura in first._

"Thanks Janie."

"No prob, m'lady."


	6. Over Analyzation

_It was Friday after school and Jane was at her locker when Maura came behind her. "_Are you ready to go, Jane?"

_Jane jumped. _"Oh crap, you scared me Maur."

"I know." _She grinned as she hooked one of her fingers into Jane's belt loop pulling her away from the locker. She closed it, and grabbed her backpack from the ground._

"I'll carry it." _Jane said._

"No, it's fine. You have 4 books and 2 binders in your hand, and you want to carry your backpack too? No, especially when I my hands, and back are free."

"Thanks."

_They got into the car, went to Jane's house so she could pack some clothes and put her books up, and then headed to Maura's house._

_Jane threw her bags in the corner and lay on the bed. "_Can you believe how much work they gave us for Christmas break?"

"I can, it's a reasonable amount."

"Reasonable amount my ass. Extra-fucking-ordinary amount of work.. I might not even do it. They can't tell me what to do, they can't make me do something I don't want."

"Jane Rizzoli doesn't like to be told what to do.. Does she?" _Maura teased._

"Damn right I don't.. You sound like my preschool nun."

"She sounds like a lovely lady." _Maura said covering her mouth attempting to contain her laugh._

"No, I was too talkative she said, too disobedient. She smacked my knuckles with rulers, Maur, rulers! And that shit hurt, but I never showed her that." _Jane smirked._

"You're going to do your homework.."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do... They gave you all that homework on purpose. They'll be pleased with themselves if you do it, for making you work that hard. But they'll be even more pleased with themselves if you don't, they'll smile devilishly while they enter that zero into the computer. You've figured it out, that's why you always do your homework." _She said, as she joined Jane on the bed._

"I hate you."

"Because I'm right, and I'm awesome."

"Ms. Wallace is a real bitch.. She gave us 200 geometry problems to do. She knows everyone in the class hates math. Cunt."

"Foul mouthed language is probably another reason you got smacked with rulers." _She smirked._

"Whatever. Sister Bitcher just didn't like me." _She rolled over to her side to face Maura._

"Oh, I bet that's what it was."

"Umm huh."

"You want something to eat?"

"Gahh.. I just got here and you're already trying to fatten me up." _She squinted her eyes. "_You've been talking to my mother."

"No, but you are a little thin."

"Thin? You're smaller than me, I just look skinnier because I'm taller."

"No, I don't think so.. So is that a yes?" _She smiled widely. "_I have Cocoa Puffs."

_Jane jumped off of the bed. "Sweet Maura.." She said in a soft loving voice. "_Lead the way."

_Maura laughed and stood up. "_Oh, you're that type huh_?"_

"What type?"

"The type that says things people want to hear, in order to get what they want.."

"Are we still talking about the Cocoa Puffs here?"

"Of course Jane, what else would I be referring to…" _She thought. "_Oh…"

"Um hmm."

"No, I'm still on the Cocoa Puffs." _She awkwardly smiled._

_They went down stairs and grabbed the cereals, and watched a movie marathon._

"Let's watch RENT next." _Maura suggested._

"Let's not."

"Come on Jane, why not?"

"Because, I know that you already know all of the lyrics. And I don't like movies where people just break out into songs. Like, how does everyone know the song, and how does everyone know the dance number? It's obviously done out of spontaneity, you know. Someone just asked you to marry them, and you break out in song along with everyone else. What are they trying to say, everyone has the same songs in their heart, and when one person sings, their heart opens up with a song they never even knew existed. It's shady, Maur." _She squinted. "_Real shady."

_Maura cocked her head to the side, taking in what Jane had just said. _"You're overanalyzing things."

"I am.. Let's watch something bloody."

"Okay.. How about we not."

"What's left then?"

"Umm… The proposal, girl, interrupted, immortals, clash of the titans, easy a, or just go with it."

"Mostly chick flicks, and me and you have watched those Greek mythology movies like 6 times already.."

"I suppose so. We clearly love Greek Mythology.."

"We do.. But, not tonight. Let's watch Girl, Interrupted."

…..

"I always hated Susana."

"Why is that?"

"She and Lisa were supposed to leave together. She didn't kill Daisy, hell she didn't even know Daisy, they just traded drugs from time to time. Because she decides to hang herself that causes you to go back to the crazy house? Hell no. I would've been shocked, cried a bit. But they wouldn't have taken my ass back, I would've called the police from a phone after me and Lisa skipped town. No way am I going back. And look at Lisa…" _She shook her head. "_No telling what happened to her when Susana abandoned her."

"Overanalyzing again, Jane. But I have to say I was thinking similar. I wouldn't have left my friend to go to Florida on her own. Especially when we decided to go together and since I was clearly the most sane out of the two of us."

"Right." _Jane put her head in Maura's lap, as she got a headache. Maura unconsciously stroked her fingers through Jane's hair._

_An hour later Jane had dozed off.. And so did Maura. The movie went off and the commercials were remarkably louder than the movie, and it startled Maura out of her sleep._

"Jane?"

_No response._

"Jane."

_She shook her a bit, and Jane's head flew up, almost head-butting Maura._

"Waah.." _She said still half asleep._

"It's 12 o' clock." _She said as she stood up, pulling Jane up with her._

_They trucked heavily and lazily up the steps, and into Maura's room. They both allowed their bodies to simply flop on the bed._

"Ugh.." _Jane groaned as slid her way to the pillows, as did Maura._

"Maura.."

"Umm huh.." _She yawned._

"I'm sleepy.."

_Maura chuckled a bit. "_Then go to sleep."

"Only if you sleep with me.. Please don't leave."

"Jane, this is my bed."

"Even better.." _She grinned hugely._ "I sleep better when we sleep together."

"As do I."

_Jane's heart practically melted even with her being half asleep._

_She grabbed the cover, and tossed it over them._

"I'm cold Maur."

"It is a little nippy."

_Jane busted out laughing. "_Nippy. Nice word choice."

"Thank you, I try."

_Jane grabbed Maura's hand, and snuggled into her side._

_Maura's eyes grew wide at the sudden intimacy, and proximity in which she and Jane were now at._

_She stiffened up at bit. Yes they'd been this close before, actually a lot, but not to this extent, and certainly not in bed. _

_Her body relaxed a bit, and Jane snuggled closer to her. "Oh god." She thought._

_Jane kissed Maura's cheek, and rested her head on Maura's shoulder. "_I love you Maur." _She smiled sweetly and nuzzled into Maura's neck. Jane loved the smell of Maura. Yes, Jane was half-asleep, but she was totally conscious of her actions. She just wanted to be close to Maura. _

_Yes, it was indeed cold in Maura's room that night, that's one reason Jane snuggled into her, to keep both of them warm, but the other reason is because she wanted to feel Maura, just be near her, no pervertedness intended at all. Maura made her feel better, made her feel like everything would be alright. She made Jane a bit more optimistic about everything, this was comforting for Jane. She made Jane feel safe._

"I- I love you too Jane." _She gulped, and you could hear her swallow from the street. _

_She was oddly happy that Jane was holding on so close and so tightly to her, but anxious at the same time. She could hear her heart beating, and she could feel her heart racing. She liked it though, and she didn't want to overanalyze, or make assumptions about anything, so she just enjoyed it, while it lasted._

_**A/N: I wrote this chapter really fast. So if you think it sucks, I'm sorry..**_


	7. Unrequited Love

_Jane woke up first the next morning, afternoon really. 2:00p.m. to be exact._

_She lifted herself from a sleeping Maura and just watched her sleep for a while. Her eyes shut, her beautiful blonde locks spread out on the pillow, and the arm Jane had been laying on was still on her back. Jane figured it had probably numbed during the night, and Maura just didn't say anything about it._

_She smiled down at the blonde goddess and furrowed her eyebrows. How anyone could be mean to such a sweet, amazing, enchantress was beyond her. She loved Maura, and would do anything for her. She was perfectly fine being empty in the inside before she met Maura, but she was sure that if Maura had left her, for any reason, the emptiness would burn, it would hurt deeper than it had before. She needed Maura, and she knew that Maura needed her too._

_She was tempted to kiss the sleeping beauty, and not on the cheek this time. She'd known for a year now that she was in love with Maura, it only took months to figure that out. And every day it got harder repress telling Maura how she felt, especially with being with her so much and being this close did not help the situation either. She could wake up like this every day, she'd love that. Maura was beautiful inside and out, usually people have one or the other, not both. But Maura did._

_Jane knew that she would have to eventually distance herself from Maura, it was becoming too hard to be around her all the time and not be able to have her completely. She also knew that she couldn't live without her blonde. Yes, __**her **__blonde. She didn't believe in ownership of a person, and she hadn't meant it that way of course. But if she had to pick between Maura and any other blonde in the world, it'd always be Maura that she chose. Hell, she would pick Maura over every, and anybody. It'd always been Maura; it'd always be Maura that was her one true soul mate, her one and only, the reason she woke up in the morning, the reason she was glad to wake up in the morning._

_She knew Maura didn't like her that way.. So she intended on keeping these feelings and thoughts to herself. If she had a choice Maura would never know, ever. She'd never love anyone again the way she loved Maura, and she knew she wouldn't. Jane Rizzoli was not in denial, and she had admitted that statement a long time ago. No one would fill her emptiness like Maura would, she was the exact fit. She is what Jane needed, Jane craved, even if they were just best friends forever. It was better than telling Maura, and losing her forever. _

"Hey, Maur." _She shook her so gently. She had always been gentle with Maura, but she was sure this time Maura didn't even feel it, at all._

"Maura." _She shook her a bit harder._

_Maura eyes slowly crept open. The hazel eyes that would always kill Jane, no matter how long she's know Maura, that's one thing that wouldn't change. _

"_Is hazel even the color for Maura's eyes.. That name is far too bland for the beautiful explosion, and the excitement Maura's eyes contained." Jane thought to herself._

_She smiled. "_Good morning Jane." _She definitely could wake up to that every morning, she refrained herself from kissing Maura. Again.. That thought popped into her head, and yet again she denied it._

"Really afternoon Maur."

"It can't be." _She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "_I always wake up.." _She yawned again and stretched. "_..In the moring."

"You done yawning Snorlax?"

_Maura looked confused._

"Forgot who I was dealing with." _She mumbled. "_Pokemon… Anyway, it's 2 o' clock in the afternoon. That's why I woke you, I knew you'd be upset if you slept any later."

_She leapt off of the bed, with a finesse Jane never knew existed. _

"What the fuck, spiderman?"

"Gymnastics.. The only thing that would stop me from going everyday would've been death." _She nodded._

"Okay, Aliya Mustafina."

_She ignored Jane's comment, and she liked Aliya so she didn't take it as an insult_. "We were supposed to shop today. And get some food for our sleepover." _She began to hyperventilate. "_We.. Don't… Have time… Now."

_Jane jumped from the bed slowly and grabbed Maura's shoulder. "_Maur, yes we will. Look, we'll leave in an hour, okay so, 3. We'll have plenty of time to shop, and stuff. And then the shenanigans start at 7, okay?"

_Her breath evened slowly. "_Okay."

"Great, get in the shower."

_Maura turned her heels, and headed to the bathroom and Jane slapped her butt._

"Jane!" _Maura squealed with laughter._

"What?" _Jane's smile was bigger than the Joker's. "_Encouragement."

_Maura went into the bathroom and closed the door her cheeks hurt from smiling so hard, and Jane headed downstairs with a side smile on her face. She figured she could cook her and Maura something. _

_30 minutes later Maura came down, fully clothed, looking as heavenly as ever in Jane's eyes. She stared with her mouth open as Maura walked down the stairs. Her hair hanging almost halfway down her back, a simple long sleeved shirt, some jeans and converse._

"What?" _Maura questioned._

_Jane swallowed, hard, gulped actually. She shook her head stupidly. "_No.. Nothing. I cooked you an umm… Egg white omelet, toast, some bacon, and some freshly squeezed orange juice. Coffee in the pot for later, just like you like it. Half Decaf, half Vanilla mixed."

"Thank you, Jane. You didn't have to do all of this." _She smiled appreciatively._

"Well I did. You can thank me again later, I'd appreciate it more later." _She said heading out of the kitchen. "_Eat, I'm gonna shower."

_Jane ran up the steps, skipping every other one._

"_She's so sweet even if she won't admit to it. Jane Rizzoli, you make my heart flutter, figuratively speaking of course. Every day I love her more." She sighed. "It's quite depressing that she'll never be mine. I'm just so grateful that we're friends. I don't think I could live without her to be honest. She means the world to me, even if she doesn't know it. I'll have to show her how special she is to me. She's the best friend I've always wanted, but never thought I'd actually have. She's more than that really. I'm in love with her, I really am. I just wish there was some sort of contraption that allows you to rewind time. I'd tell her everything I feel for her, and if it didn't go well I'd just rewind it." She gave a sad smile. "Or I wish I could read her mind, so I know what's in that brain of hers. Tragedy these things haven't been invented yet.. But if everyone had one what's the point.. She makes my heart melt, everything about her. She's so amazing, and beautiful, inside and out. I feel the most comfortable, and accepted when we're together. She makes me feel alright, for once. She makes me feel like I belong.. I think we complete each other, I think she's my soul mate. Too bad the kind of love I have for her is unrequited." She thought as she ate the delicious breakfast her best friend had cooked for her._


	8. X&Y

_December 25… 9:15 p.m._

"What's taking you so long to make the hot chocolate and the coffee?!" _Jane yelled from the couch._

"The joy of controlling how the hot water rises before a torrent of pressure penetrates the tamped beans."

"Oookay.. I'm done listening to coffee porn. I will get up and make it myself."

"No.."

"You have 2 minutes."

"You're so impatient."

"That's the first time I've heard that."

…

"It's finished, bring your mug."

_Jane rushed from the couch to the kitchen._

_And put her glass out. "_The caffeine first." _Maura poured coffee into Jane's mug and then hot chocolate, sugar, and threw her a spoon, and then she did her own._

"Here." _She threw Jane the whip cream. Jane had her back turned to Maura, and she caught it in her hand._

"We make a good team, Maura." _She smiled, with her back still to Maura._

"_Um huh." Maura mumbled, whip cream in her mouth._

"When are we exchanging gifts?"

_She swallowed. _"We can do it now."

_They headed to the living room and sat on the floor._

"Same time?" _Maura asked._

_Jane nodded her head. "_Same time."

_Jane pulled out a box, not too big, but not too small, Maura pulled out a much smaller box and they exchanged._

"Oh. My. God. You did not!" _Jane screamed as she opened her box._

"Indeed, I did."

"I can't.."

"..Yes you can, and you will." _Maura took the necklace from Jane's hand, and got on her knees behind Jane. She moved Jane's hair from her neck and it sent a shiver down Jane's spine. She hooked the necklace up carefully, and put Jane's hair back in place._

"_M_aura, I can't believe you got this for me."

_Maura just nodded her head._

"Thank you, so much!" _She grabbed Maura in a tight embrace. "_This is like the best present anyone has ever given me."

"I saw the way you looked at it when we were in the jewelry store in the mall, so I had to get it."

"_You can see the way I looked at this necklace, yet you can't see the way I look at you." Jane thought to herself._

_They released each other. "_Thank you! Although I can't say mine will be nearly as amazing." _Jane's eyes got foggy from withholding tears._

"Don't cry.." _She offered Jane a sincere smile. "_It's the thought that counts, Jane." _They sat back on the floor and Maura opened the present. "_It has holes in the…" _She opened the whole thing. _

_Maura tackled Jane on the floor hugging her, and then straddled Jane's waist unconsciously. "Geochelone sulcata.. _I can't believe you got me a tortoise!" _Her smile lit up the whole room._

_She nodded, and chuckled. "_I did."

"Thank you so much!" _She pecked Jane's forehead and jumped off of her._

_Jane was glad Maura loved her gift, but the sudden loss of contact sucked. She'd give up anything to see Maura smile like that every day._

_She leaned up, resting on her elbows._

"I should name him."

"How are you so sure it's a him?"

"Don't insult my intelligence Jane." _She thought. "_Bass."

"Bass? Like a fish?"

"William M. Bass. The forensic anthropologist."

"Of course."

"He's so little, and adorable."

"So are you." _Maura blushed, and Jane scratched her neck nervously, and turned her head to the side, immediately regretting what she had just said._

"Thanks, Jane, for everything."

_She turned her head back. _"I haven't done anything."

"Yes you have, you've been here with me all day, when you could be home with your family."

_Jane shrugged. "_I think of you as my family. Plus I see them every day anyway, to tell the truth, they're a bit annoying. So being here is for my own selfish reasons." _She shrugged again. _"I love spending time with you."

"Thanks, Jane, I mean it. You're really sweet to me." _She smiled._

"I try.."

"I love spending time with you too."

_The radio had been on, but now it seemed a lot louder._

_Trying hard to speak and_

_Fighting with my weak hand_

_Driven to distraction_

_So part of the plan_

_When something is broken_

_And you try to fix it_

_Trying to repair it_

_Any way you can_

"Wanna dance?"

_Maura just smiled and nodded. _

_Maura wrapped her arms around Jane's neck, and Jane wrapped her arms around Maura's waist and they slowly swayed to the music._

_I'm diving off the deep end_

_You become my best friend_

_I wanna love you_

_But I don't know if I can_

_I know something is broken_

_And I'm trying to fix it_

_Trying to repair it_

_Any way I can_

"You know, you're the only person I've ever brought here? To my house I mean."

"Oh really, so it must be a secret.. Is your house like the Bat Cave or something?" _Jane joked._

"Sort of." _She gave a sad smile._

"U, oh.. I'm no good at keeping secrets." _Jane tried again._

_She giggled this time._ "I believe you are, I trust you." _She smiled. _"Plus, you're my first best friend."

"We'll I'm glad to be your first, and hopefully you're only." _Jane joked again, trying to take away some of the intimacy they were sharing, attempting to make it seem like it's just dancing, when they both know otherwise._

"That's what she said."

_Maura gave in to Jane jokes, knowing how Jane is about certain topics._

"Omg, Maura knows how that works."

_Maura chuckled, Jane would do anything to hear her laugh like that daily, it made her melt like almost nothing else could, her touch and her smile were the only other things that made her feel this way._

_You and me are floating on a tidal wave..._

_Together_

_You and me are drifting into outer space..._

_And singing_

_Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh..._

_You and me are floating on a tidal wave..._

_Together_

_You and me are drifting into outer space_

_You and me are floating on a tidal wave..._

_Jane stared into Maura's eyes, all she found there was love, passion, and a tad bit of isolation. Jane wanted Maura to know that she'd never have to feel alone with her. She was always a person of action, and she usually regretted things after they were done._

_She leaned in for her lips to meet Maura's. They ghosted over each other's for a moment, before Jane closed the space._

_Together_

_You and me are drifting into outer space..._

_And singing_

_Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh... _

_When their lips finally met, a shock like no other ran through their bodies. Jane jumped back, and took her arms from around Maura's waist. She regretted it, she loved the feeling, but after it was over she had felt empty again, because she knew she had just screwed up the best friendship she'd ever have._

"I'm so sorry, Maur."

"No, Jane. I.."

"…No.. I umm.. I should leave." _She grabbed her hoodie and opened the door_. "I'm really sorry, Maur. Have a good night. Lock the doors."

_She hurried down the street, and stopped where she knew Maura couldn't see her if she had decided to step out and look for her. She knew Maura couldn't leave far from her house because of her father's rules, but she also knew that Maura would possibly break the rules for her. She took a deep breath, inhaling cold air and a single tear rolled down her cheek. She pulled her phone out and called her mom._

"_Ma, I'm ready."_

"_Janie are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine Ma, please just come."_

"_On my way."_

_She took another deep breath, and the cold air burned the core of her chest._

_Maura opened the front door and looked left and right for Jane, but she was gone. She sighed and went back into the house, locking all of the locks. She picked up Bass and carried him to her room._

_When Jane got home she said nothing, she went into her room and closed the door. _

"She likes me Bass.. She likes me the way I like her." _Maura sighed. "_Why would she kiss me and then run, I do not understand. Was she simply acting on impulse, or was she only caught up in the moment, I wish she didn't run when things get complicated. I wish she wasn't so hard to read, or so refusing to show any emotions besides happiness, and anger, but then I guess she wouldn't be Jane, would she?"

_They stared up at the ceiling, and thought about what had happened between them.. They sighed. "I probably just lost my best friend." They both went to sleep with the other on their mind, hoping that this wasn't the end of their friendship, and that they could fix this._


	9. Just Don't Talk To Me Anymore

_Over the next month Jane had been avoiding Maura as much as possible, saying hey and quickly walking off, skipping lunch, sitting somewhere else in class. She hadn't known if Maura wanted to talk to her or not, but she figured she wouldn't. Jane wanted to, but she thought Maura would reject or refuse her, by not talking to her gave Jane a little hope that maybe Maura still wanted to be friends._

_February 12_

"Hey, Maur." _Jane said as she passed by Maura in the hallway as she headed out of the front door._

"Don't, Jane."

_Jane turned around, usually Maura would say nothing, but occasionally she would say hey, but never this. "_Don't what? All I said was hey."

"Don't talk to me anymore." _Her face was hidden by the locker but Jane heard the shakiness in her voice._

_She walked over and touched Maura's shoulder, and Maura shrugged her hand off. "_Don't… Don't touch me."

_Jane was hurt, by the bite in Maura's words. "_What's wrong, Maura?"

"What's wrong?" _She breathed deeply. "_Are you serious?! You've been avoiding me since Christmas! Christmas!" _She spat_. _She slammed her locker, and took a step closer to Jane. "_You kissed me, and then you ran. You've been avoiding me Jane, and I haven't done anything wrong."

"I.."

"..No! I am not finished." _Her voice was shaking, and her eyes were foggy. "_You kissed me and now you're dating Dean, for a month!.. You never planned to tell me? You know what.. Don't answer that. Just.. Just don't talk to me anymore." _She began walking._

"Maur.." _Jane grabbed her arm._

_Maura snatched it away. "_No, Jane." _She shook her head. "_You wanted to be my friend! I hadn't realized how lonely I actually was until you! And over the past month I've felt lonelier than I ever have! You made yourself such a big part of my life, and then abandoned me as if we were never friends. I don't need you talking to me, as if we're going to be friends again. Because clearly we're not, and you did this, not me!" _She walked out of the school, her face red and a single tear escaped from her eye._

_When Maura left Jane let her tears fall freely. She punched a locker. "_Dammit!" _She yelled not from pain, but from the conversation they just had. She figured she had just broken her middle finger though, and it hurt. But her heart was hurting more._

_She got in her mom's car and slammed the door with her right hand._

"Is everything okay, Jane?"

"No.. My life sucks balls!"

"What happened sweetie?"

"Maur doesn't wanna be my bestfriend anymore." _She felt a new set of tears approaching, as she had just admitted it. She knew she had to dump Dean, and she'd do it as soon as possible. She'd choose Maura over him, she'd choose Maura over everybody. She was never going to give up on Maura, and she would try anything, anything to regain Maura's trust._

"You've been avoiding her, correct?"

"Yes, and I knew if I talked to her this would happen."

"Maybe if you hadn't avoided her this wouldn't have happened."

"Maybe.."

"You should talk to her, you're always happiest when you're with her. Stop trying to play the victim here."

"What! I am the victim. She unfriended me."

"This is not facialbook, and you are not the victim, Maura is. You need to fix this Jane Clementine Rizzoli, or at least apologize to the poor girl."

"Maura's a lot of things, but poor isn't one of them. I mean you've seen her hous…"

"..Jane, I'm serious. You will apologize, young lady."

"Okay Ma, gosh!" _She took a deep breath and thought about what she could've done to prevent this, her worst nightmare._

…

_Something occurred to Jane that she had forgotten._

"Oh yeah, Ma.."

"Yeah, sweetie."

"I forgot to tell you, I broke my finger. So can we head to the hospital instead of home?"

"Jane, you always manage to get hurt, one way or another!"

_Jane smiled, she liked going to the hospital for little things like this. It made her feel badass. She's had 3 broken fingers including this one, a broken leg, and a broken arm._

"Well, the life of Jane B. Rizzoli is a dangerous one."

"B, you mean C."

"No, b for Badass."

"Language, Jane."

"Man, you sound like Maura. Language, Jane." _She mocked. It only made her miss Maura more._

…_._

_When Jane got home it was an unpleasant surprise for her to see Gabriel Dean on her doorstep._

_He stood when he saw the car pull up. _

"Hey, Mrs. Rizzoli."

"Gabriel." _She spoke a one word sentence as she walked into the house, shutting the door behind her._

"Hey, Jane."

"What are you doing here?"

"Your brothers wouldn't let me in."

_She looked up into the window where Frankie and Tommy were and winked at them._

"We need to talk."

"I know, what are we going to do for Valentine's Day?"

"Not about that. I think we should break up."

"What? Why? We've been together for a month."

"I like you and everything." _She lied, he made her want to vomit. "_But not like that, I liked us better when we were friends."

"I see, so who is it?"

"Who is what?"

"The person you're going to date now."

"What? No. What I said was true. I just really don't like you that way... Anyway I have to go." _She turned to go into the house._

"Is this about Maura?"

_She turned back around _"No, well a little yes. Why?"

"Someone told me you two dated."

"No, we never dated."

"Then what about her?"

"It's really none of your concern."

"She's weird Jane, she's really weird."

"Your face is weird, and so is your hair, and not the good kind of weird either.. Maura's the good kind of weird."

"Yeah, a weird dyke, you fucking butch bitch." _He mumbled under his breath as he turned to leave._

_Jane stepped off of the porch and grabbed Dean's shoulder turning him around and right crossed him. "_You_ chipmunk_ faced bitch, that's for Maura."

_Almost immediately Frankie and Tommy were outside, they had watched the whole thing, but heard none of it. They balled up their fist and pounded it into their open hand. _

_Dean wiped the blood from his mouth. "_You need some help, Jane?" _Frankie asked._

"Because, we'd love to smash his face in." _Tommy added, and the two boys smirked at the same time._

"No thanks guy, Dean's leaving now."

"Uh yeah." _He scrambled to his feet and headed down the street._

_She turned around and pounded her brother's fists._

"I love you guys."

"Jane, you're becoming Ma." _Frankie said._

"Don't even, Frankie. Vomit."

"Yeah, I thought we agreed that we all love each other. We said it that one time, and we said we would never say it out loud again."

"I'm sorry, I forgot." _She didn't._

_Jane went into her room trying to scheme up a plan to get Maura back. And she'd do anything to fix what she had done._

_She yelled from her room. "_Ma, can you take me to Maura's house?!"


	10. Run

"Thanks, Ma." _Jane said as she closed the car door, and stepped onto the sidewalk._

"You want me to stay, just in case she doesn't open up?"

"Thanks for the support, Ma."

"Well if it was me, I wouldn't."

"Umm.. Thank you, have a nice night Ma."

"Okay, I'll go down the street to the mall; it's only 7 o' clock. Text me if she doesn't come to talk to you in an hour."

"Buh bye!"

_Her mom pulled off, and she turned to look at the door, she sat the flowers she had picked up to the side and headed to the door.. She breathed deeply, taking in the freshest air. She thought about everything her and Maura had done together over the year, and how much stuff she wanted them to do. She was fully aware that she was only 14, but she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Maura. One way or another, friends or more, it really didn't matter, as long as Maura was in her life everything would be fine, and as long as Maura was happy so was she._

_Maura seemed awfully stuck on the fact that she kissed her, but then again, who wouldn't be, you know your best friend kissing you and all. And she sounded pretty hurt mentioning Jane and Dean being together. Jane put two and two together and hoped to a higher power that it's what she thought it meant._

_She rang the doorbell, three times, no answer. She knocked on the door. She sat on the porch and rang the doorbell again. It was cold, and it had been a long day for her. Eventually she stood up and threw rocks at Maura's window._

"Maura!"

_Maura finally peeped out. "_Go away, Jane."

"I can't do that." _She really couldn't, she couldn't continue knowing her and Maura weren't going to be friends anymore or at least without Maura knowing why she did what she did._

_Maura closed the curtain and sat on the floor, listening to what Jane had to say, if she was going to say anything. She wasn't going to give in that easily to Jane she was hurting. Although all she wanted was to run down the stairs and hug Jane, tightly. Jane had come to her house, that's pretty ballsy and brave after a month of not really speaking to each other._

"Maura, please just, listen to what I have to say."

_Maura didn't say anything, she just continued to listen._

"I wrote you a song."

_Jane waited a second, seeing if Maura would respond. _

_Maura crossed her arms and gave in, she couldn't stay quiet any longer. She wanted to hear this. _ "You did not."

"No, no I didn't. But I did find a song that expresses my thoughts."

_She pulled out her phone._

_I'll sing it one last time for you_

_Then we really have to go_

_You've been the only thing that's right_

_In all I've done_

_And I can barely look at you_

_But every single time I do_

_I know we'll make it anywhere_

_Away from here_

_Light up, light up_

_As if you have a choice_

_Even if you cannot hear my voice_

_I'll be right beside you dear_

_Louder, louder_

_And we'll run for our lives_

_I can hardly speak I understand_

_Why you can't raise your voice to say_

_To think I might not see those eyes_

_Makes it so hard not to cry_

_And as we say our long goodbye_

_I nearly do_

_Light up, light up_

_As if you have a choice_

_Even if you cannot hear my voice_

_I'll be right beside you dear_

_Louder, louder_

_And we'll run for our lives_

_I can hardly speak I understand_

_Why you can't raise your voice to say_

_Slower, slower_

_We don't have time for that_

_All I want's to find an easy way_

_To get out of our little heads_

_Have heart, my dear_

_We're bound to be afraid_

_Even if it's just for a few days_

_Making up for all this mess_

_Light up, light up_

_As if you have a choice_

_Even if you cannot hear my voice_

_I'll be right beside you dear_

…

"The song's pretty good, huh? You know I'm not good with words."

"Yes, I know."

"You know I'm not very gregarious, except when it comes to you, then I'm quite gregarious, I'm the fucking definition of the word. I love your company so much, that it hurts when I'm not with you. I swear I'm so sorry, Maur. I've missed you so much over the past month. Please, just, just let me explain."

_Maura contemplated opening the door and actually talking to Jane._

_Jane waited 5 minutes and she headed to the curb to call her mom. She'd been out there for 45 minutes now._

_When Jane heard the door open she immediately turned around._

"You have 2 minutes." _Maura said, though she'd give Jane however long it took. She just wanted Jane to know that she wouldn't forgive her easily if this should ever happen again. And that she couldn't just avoid her, and expect everything to be okay, when Jane decided it would._

_She smiled. "_That's all I need." _She thought about where to start. "_I don't even know where to start."

"Well, time's ticking, so you better start somewhere. I want complete honesty, and I want to know everything, don't lie to me Jane."

"Never…" _She thought. "Okay complete honesty." She started. "_Umm, so.. I.. I love you Maur, I mean I'm in love with you. I didn't know how to handle it, and things got so, whatever, when we were dancing and I kissed you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I mean, I did, but not if you hadn't wanted it. I figured you hadn't so I ran before you could embarrass me, or before I could further embarrass myself. I avoided you because I knew you didn't like me back, I knew you'd hate me for what I did, so I avoided, and I'm sorry. I've always wanted to be friends with you, but I never knew how. You always seemed cool, and like you had everything figured out already, and that you didn't need anyone, that you were fine on your own. I.. I never meant to make you feel alone, at all.. That was not my intention, the night I kissed you, I wanted you to know that you never had to feel alone with me, and that's part of the reason I did it. I don't like Dean, I actually hate that guy. But I figured it was the only way I could try to get over you, but I knew I wouldn't, I never will either_._. I dumped him, and I punched him, I told him his face was weird, and his hair was weird, and I told him he looked like a Chipmunk, and he does, I never noticed it, but I did after I dumped him, I did, and he's gross, so gross.. And you mean so much to me, I swear I never intended to hurt you, I love you Maur, I do. Please forgive me, or I won't be able to forgive myself. Ever. You're so sweet and kind, and beautiful, inside and out, you're funny, and you complete me, you're my better half. Even if you wanna just be friends, it's okay, and if you don't wanna be friends anymore then okay, whatever you want, I'd do anything to make you happy, just please forgive me. I never meant for any of this to happen, honest." _It came out fast, really fast actually. But Maura understood every word. A single tear ran down Jane's cheek, it burned her skin, and she quickly wiped it._

"Okay."

"Okay, what?"

"Okay, I forgive you, only because you had fairly understandable reasons. But still.."

_Jane ran to the door attempting to hug Maura, but she was stopped by Maura's hand._

"Whaaat.."

"Jane, I swear, if you ever make me feel that alone again, or if you avoid m.."

"..I promise. Never." _She went to the side of the bushes and came back. "_I got these for you, I hid them, so I wouldn't look stupid if you didn't open the door." _She smiled hugely. She made her mom take her to the Florist Shop before they came here._

"Thank you." _She took the flowers._

"Can, can I hug you now?"

"Okay."

_Jane slid her arms around Maura, and Maura put her arms around Jane's neck. Jane squoze Maura. She almost killed her from suffocation; she had to get a month's worth of hugs out of it. She backed them up into the yard, and picked Maura up. Her heart fluttered when she heard Maura giggling. She sat her down in the yard, and kissed her cheek._

"No, Jane." _She lightly shoved Jane._

"Oh, I.." _She gulped._ "I understand if you just wanna be friends." _She tried to smile, but it showed up as more of a grimace._

"No, do not kiss me again, if, if we can't be together."

"You wanna be with me?" _Jane was literally about to burst from happiness, hopefully this was not a cruel joke on her._


	11. Eventually

"..Eventually, but not now."

"I understand, I totally respect your decision. I should earn your trust back."

"That's what I'll need."

"I'll wait as long as you need me to. I'll wait forever if that's what I have to do. I need you to trust me again, and I will show you that I'm trustworthy. I just, I wanna be with you Maur, and I'd do anything for a do over. But those aren't real, so I'm going to do my best to prove all that I say to you. I know I've already said it, but I never meant to hurt you. I actually thought I was doing us some good by giving us space, time to process what happened and think about it. I also thought if I spoke to you you'd say you never wanted to speak to me again, I know these aren't legitimate reasons, they're excuses, excuses that I shouldn't be making, because what I did was inexcusable. I know that no matter how many times I say it, it won't mean much. I'm just happy and so grateful that you're giving me another chance, one that I probably don't deserve."

"I believe in you, and I know you'd never hurt me intentionally."

"You always see the best in me, when no one else does. And I won't let you down again, I promise I'll never let you fall, and if you do then I'll be right there with you. We'll fall together, and we'll find our way back together too. You'll never feel alone again, even when you want to get rid of me, you won't be able to."

"Thank you, Jane."

"No... You allow me to be myself, you never judge me, thank you for that."

"You are the same way with me."

"You never fail to amaze, and intrigue me. You make me want to be the best person I can be. You are the only person that makes sense to me. I.." _She looked to the ground and scratched the back of her neck._ "I don't deserve you. You're too good for me."

"Hey Jane, no. I love you, okay, just the way you are.. You're good enough for anyone."

"But you're not just anyone."

_She gave a sad smile._ "You doubt yourself too much. I love that you're not conceited, but I hate how low your self-esteem can be sometimes, especially when I know there's nothing I can say to make you think differently. You have to believe that for yourself, one day you will though, I know it. Yes, you did something stupid, but we all do. Mistakes are part of life, and we learn and prosper from them. It's repeated mistakes that hold us back."

"I regret what I did to us Maur."

"I think it was the great poet, Ludacris that said "Regret is for suckas, for suckas, for suckas.. Regret is for suckas, bitch."

_Jane immediately caught the reference, and her chest was literally exploding from unexpected laughter. She made Maura watch that episode with her and they had a great time that night._

"You always know how to make me feel better, even when I don't deserve it."

"I like to live by the phrase 'forgive, but never forget.' I remember how I felt every day during the month that we weren't talking, and it hurt. But I also remember the year and 6 months we've been friends, excluding the month we haven't talked, and those moments have been some of the best I've ever had. I have friends now, that I probably never would've had had it not been for you. You gave me something I thought I'd never have. So yeah you screwed up, for a whole month. But that's a pretty good record, considering how long we've known each other, a lot of friendships only last months, ours is still going on, not including that last month of course. So you've let me down once, out of 19 months. I bet I've let you down too, I'm sure it wasn't that drastic though."

"Nope, never.

"Well give me some time, I'm sure I will eventually." _She offered a smile_.

"I'm really sorry, Maur."

"Okay.. I've forgiven you. We can't get past this if you keep talking about it."

"Okay. But I really am..."

"...You're sorry, I know. Just don't let it happen again. Okay?"

"Never."

"Okay." _She leaned in and kissed Jane's cheek. "_Don't let me down again."

"I promise I won't." _She smiled at Maura. _

_"_It's cold out here, do you want to come in?"

"Yes. I've been out here for like an hour, my feet are numb and so are my fingers." _She laughed a little._

_They went into Maura's room like they always had, and talked for hours, it was almost like nothing had changed._

_Jane yawned from the floor._

_ "_Are you sleepy?"

_She stretched her arms. "_Exhausted. I'm going to call my Ma and ask her to pick me up."

"It's 9 o' clock Jane, and it's dark. You can stay if you want."

"Thanks. Honestly I didn't wanna go home anyway."

"Do you think we can really do this Jane?"

"What? We've slept in the same bed before. We fit comfortably." _She smiled._

"No.. I mean this relationship?"

"Our friendship relationship, or a relationship relationship?"

"Relationship relationship."

"I honestly believe that you and I can make it through anything Maur. Look at us, two completely different people, who've become best friends. I've known you for how long? A year and like 6, 7 months? And look how close we are. I'm not this close with anyone except Frost and Frankie, and I've known Frost since like forever, and Frankie since he was born. I think our relationship is special, unbreakable from the outside. We are the only ones who can break what we have up, no one else. So it's our job to preserve this relationship. I already told you that you're my better half. I just think, if we wanted to, we could make anything work."

"Because I really want to be with you, Jane."_ She was being completely honest now._

_Jane crawled on her knees and sat in front of Maura, placing her hands on Maura's knees._

_"_We will be together, one day, when you feel that the time is right." _She smiled at Maura, trying not to show how all of this was actually eating her up, but she failed._

_This did not go unnoticed by Maura. She smiled sweetly at Jane, and leaned down, ghosting over Jane's lips only a short moment before closing the space. Jane tensed on contact, Maura's lips left a fervid feeling behind, along with desire. Jane wanted something she knew she wouldn't have for a while, she would kiss Maura all day if she could. She licked her lips, savoring the taste of Maura Isles, and the tingling feeling she left behind._

_"_I'm just glad that you gave me the final say, and let me know that it's okay not to be ready and that I didn't need to rush into things."

"I would never rush you or pressure you into something that you don't want to do." _She picked up Maura's hand and brought it to her lips. She placed a gentle kiss on it, but she hadn't let it go, as Maura helped her up into the bed._

_Even though Jane was sleepier Maura fell asleep first. Jane watched her for a couple of seconds before inching closer behind her. She put her arm over Maura's stomach, her head on the same pillow as Maura's and she moved closer so she was spooning her. Her hair smelled amazing, Jane hadn't forgotten what Maua smelled like. She was extra touchy feely with Maura all day, missing the closeness that she had longed for the month of avoidance that she initiated. Jane really didn't care how long she had to wait before Maura would come around. She knew that Maura was her one and only, the person she lived for, the person she'd kill for, and the person she'd die for._


	12. YOU

_3 months later.._

_Jane and Maura are leaving school, heading to the park._

_"_Ian asked me out today." _Maura informed._

_"_What did you say?" _Jane tried to keep the worry from her voice._

_Maura intertwined their fingers, and rested her head on Jane's shoulder. "_I told him that I was pretty much dating someone already."

"And who would that be?" _Jane joked._

_She nudged Jane. "_There's been this unspoken sentence, question rather. I just figured, that you know, it hadn't needed to be asked."

"So for how long, have you been 'pretty much dating' this person for?"

"It's been about 3 weeks now, but we've known for months that this was going to happen."

"I see.."

"Oh do you?"

"Indeed I do. You want them to ask you out?"

"Not really, I told you it didn't need to be said."

"Oh, but it does in fact. It needs to be confirmed and official."

"Does it?"

"It does." _She stopped walking and turned to face Maura. "_Maura Dorthea Isles, I've known you for…" _She counted on her fingers. "…_21 months, and those have been the best of my life. I've never wanted to be with someone like I want to be with you. You make me happy. You're beautiful inside and out, and you're my better half.. So with all this said, will you be my girlfriend?"

"I need to think about it..."_ She giggled. She grabbed Jane's waist and pulled her close. Jane leaned down and Maura closed the remaining space. Jane felt Maura smile in the kiss. Maura opened her mouth taking Jane's top lip between both of hers before pulling back. "_Yes."

_"_Looks like I stole you from that person you've been 'pretty much dating', huh."

"It would appear you have."

_She rested her forehead on Maura's, staring into intense hazel eyes. "_I love you."

"I love you."_ She pecked Jane's lips one more time before they rejoined hands and continued walking._

_They sat on the bench, hands still together. Then they watched a little boy push a little girl down and she began to cry. Another girl helped her up, and punched the boy in the face, she grabbed the other girl's hand and ran to the slides._

_"_Who does that remind you of?" _Jane chuckled._

_"_Us." _She smiled and rested her head on Jane's shoulder again._

_They sat there for 30 minutes._

_"_Do you want to go to my house?"

"We can go to mine.. It's closer, we can walk."

_They entered the house, and it was quiet, too quiet. The Rizzoli house was usually filled with unnecessary noise._

_They went into Jane's room and closed the door._

_"_It's quiet today."

"I know."

"But I haven't been here in a while, is it like this a lot now?"

"No, my parents, they fight a lot. I didn't want you to be around for that. I'm pretty sure my Pop is going to leave my Ma."

"I'm sorry Jane."

"No, it's fine. I used to look up to the man when I was younger, now he has shown all of us what type of person he actually is. We don't need him, hell we don't even want him anymore. He can leave today and I won't give a single fuck.. I'll be happy when he's gone. The house is so much more peaceful when he's not here. He comes home and starts shit with everyone, and we just nod and continue with our lives, ignoring his nagging and pointless bickering. I think Ma will be happier too, she won't be so stressed out." _Jane shrugged. _

_ "_Is that the reason you didn't want to go home, when you came to my house last month?"

"A little yes.. But I could do with the yelling. Most of it was just me wanting to be with you that night."

_Maura simply nodded, letting Jane know that she understood_.

_Jane turned the radio on, and lay on the bed with Maura, face to face. She laced their fingers._

_"_I don't need anyone, except you. I wish we had our own island or something, where it's just you and me, no outside world. You're the best thing that's happened to me."

_Maura kisses Jane's hand. "_I know what you mean.. Me too. You know I don't have much family, the mob is my family. I know they don't do good things, but they love me and I love them, I've never seen them get angry or violent. They avoid showing me that part of them, and I love them for it. My mother, I have no idea where she is." _She shrugged. _"If it's meant to be we'll find each other. My father refuses to talk about her, I think it hurts him when I bring her up, so I don't anymore.. But you, my dear." _She kissed Jane. "_You are special, like no on I have ever seen. You're all I need."

"Promise me something."

"Anything."

"Promise me, that when we have no one else, we'll always have each other."

"I promise. I'll always be here, always."

_She pulled Maura into a chaste kiss. _

_She knew all of her problems weren't solved, they probably never would be. But when she was with Maura they disappeared. She knew as long as she had Maura everything would be better for her. _

_She pulled back, and moved a strand of free hair from Maura's face. She leapt from the bed and turned up the radio. _

_"_Dance with me sweetness." _She reached her hands to Maura to help her from the bed._

_Jane's hands were quickly on Maura's waist, and Maura's arms around Jane's neck, her head buried in Jane's neck._

_ The words have been drained from this pencil _

_Sweet words that I want to give you _

_And I can't sleep _

_I need to tell you _

_Goodnight _

_ When we're together, I feel perfect _

_When I'm pulled away from you, I fall apart _

_All you say is sacred to me _

_Your eyes are so green_

_I can't look away _

_As we lay in the stillness _

_You whisper to me _

_Baby, marry me _

_Promise you'll stay with me _

_Oh you don't have to ask me _

_You know you're all that I live for _

_You know I'd die just to hold you _

_Stay with you _

_Somehow I'll show you _

_That you are my night sky _

_I've always been right behind you _

_Now I'll always be right beside you _

_So many nights I cried myself to sleep _

_Now that you love me, I love myself _

_I never thought I would say this _

_I never thought there'd be __**YOU**_


	13. Things'll Fall Into Place

"Frankie, Tommy, go to your rooms!" Frank yelled.

They didn't argue they did as they were told. Jane woke up from her sweet sleep and she removed her left hand from Maura's stomach to check her watch. It was 7:30 p.m they had dozed off watching tv.

"Frank! You will not keep doing this!" Angela yelled.

That woke Maura from her sleep. She sat up on the bed, freeing Jane's right arm.

"What was that?" She smacked her mouth, having no taste in it from sleeping.

"Fight. Wait here."

Jane lifted herself from the bed and knocked on the next door. Tommy opened it.

"You guys okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Frankie said.

"What happened?"

"Dad picked us up from school today, we couldn't find you so we figured you were with Maura. He took us to his girlfriend's house. He said he finally wanted us to meet her, and that we might have a little brother or sister. We sat there for hours, she already has 3 kids, Jane! Me and Tommy were really uncomfortable there, the kids were annoying as fuck, the house smelled, and she was smoking around us like it was fine, she didn't even ask. So we walked down the street and had Ma pick us up from there."

"You did the right thing."

"You think this is it, Jane? This is really the day." Tommy asked.

"I hope so." Frankie said.

"Stay in here."

She returned to her room.

"Maura, you can leave. None of us want to hear this, and if I were you I know I wouldn't want to. I'll sit outside with you until Colin comes."

"It's fine Jane, really. I'll stay with you. I know you're not going to leave your brothers here while this is happening, and I won't leave you."

She held up a finger to Maura, and went back into her brothers' room.

"You guys okay in here?"

"Yeah, we're good. We're used to it by now. Are you leaving or something?" Frankie asked.

"Of course not."

"Good." Tommy retorted.

"Frank, never take my boys around that woman again!"

"They're my boys too! And she's my girlfriend, they were going to meet her eventually!"

"They aren't your boys! You've barely seen them. They are my children, not yours! Jane's helped out with them more than you ever have, and it's not her responsibility!"

"Janie's mature."

"I hate this." Jane said and turned the music up.

"We can talk about something else then, yeah?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know… The weather."

"I don't even watch the weather."

"Well, let's make up our own secret language."

"Nuh uh."

Maura tackled Jane onto the floor and straddled her waist. Jane looked up to Maura, her honey blonde hair was covering the sides of her face, just like it had been the first day they talked in the 8th grade, and her hands were on Jane's ribs. Maura had a smirk on her face, and Jane noticed.

"What are you up to?"

Maura didn't answer she leaned forward like she was about to kiss Jane, but she grabbed Jane's ribs and tickled her.

"No.. Stop.." She gasped for air._ "_I'm ticklish." She was giggling like crazy.

"I know."

She flipped Maura, and started tickling her.

"No.." She giggled. "… Fair Jane."

"She's a freshman, she deserves her teenage years! She is not their keeper, we're supposed to be. She's taken over your job! You've been too busy spending time with your new family!"

"Angela, don't you dare talk about them, they've done nothing!"

"Whatever, get your clothes and leave! The kids will be happy when you're gone and so will I!"

Jane stopped tickling Maura as she heard this. Maura lay on the floor still underneath Jane, panting, as she listened as well. Well not intentionally, but they were really loud.

"Bitch!"

Jane, Tommy, and Frankie left their rooms at the same time.

"Frank, do not talk to my Ma like that." Frankie said.

"So it's Frank now?"

"Yeah it is."

"Frank leave!" Angela said again.

He grabbed Angela's arm. The kids inched closer.

"Do not put your hands on her.. Just go Pop." Tommy said.

"At least I'm still somebody's Pop, Jane you too?"

She shook her head.

"You all feel like I should leave?"

"Yeah." The young Rizzolis said.

Angela snatched her arm from Frank's grip, his hand leaving purple bruising. He turned to leave the living room.

"Do not, put ya hands on me." She pushed him further away from her.

He turned around and lifted his hand as if he was about to strike her. But she didn't move, didn't flinch, didn't blink, she stood her ground.

"I swear you better not touch her." Jane finally spoke, and she growled as the words escaped her mouth.

He put his hand down and turned to look at Jane. All three of his children's fists were balled up, they were furious.

"Fine, I'm going. Don't call me for anything, ever. You've made your chioice." He turned and left from the house not bothering to take anything with him.

Angela let out a shaky deep sigh.

"Thanks babies."

"No problem, Ma." Frankie spoke.

"You can do better than him. He's not worth your time, and he ain't worth you getting stressed over." Tommy said.

"You okay though Ma?"

"I'm fine baby, you can go back to your rooms now, it's been a long day for all of us."

_One by one they kissed their mom's forehead and headed back to their rooms._

"Janie." _She called right before Jane could open her door._

_She turned around. "_Yeah, Ma."

"Thank you, for everything. You treat your brothers so good, giving them what you know we can't, I promise I'll work harder so you won't have to."

"No Ma, it's fine. I love those little brats.. I'm their keeper, and they're mines. It's not a parasitic relationship. I love them they love me, we take care of each other is all."

"Are you okay.. I mean are you fine with this? Me and your father."

"I honestly don't know what you ever saw in that sorry excuse for a man." _Jane smiled, and Angela smiled back._

"Goodnight, baby."

"Goodnight, Ma."

Jane went in her room and closed the door. She laid back on the bed, her back to Maura and let herself cry.

Frankie, Frost and Maura were the only ones who have ever seen her cry, and they were probably the only ones who would.

"Are you okay Jane?" She touched Jane's shoulder.

Jane didn't answer. She flipped over and Maura grabbed her in a tight embrace holding her as she cried. She knew that Jane wasn't okay, not right now, and she knew Jane wasn't going to want to talk about it yet, so she didn't push. She held Jane's shaking body, and kissed her forehead.

Jane never allowed herself to be held, even as a child. But with Maura it was different everything was different with Maura.

Jane fell asleep with her head resting on Maur's shoulder and she slept on Maura's left arm, Maura's right arm was lying flat on Jane's stomach.

The next morning Jane and Mura woke up at the sound of Frankie and Tommy playing CoD in the living room.

"Thank you." Jane kissed Maura, and pulled her out of the bedroom. The thank you was unspecific, broad; it could've been for a lot of things. But Maura knew what Jane was thanking her for.

Jane kissed Maura's hand as soon as they hit the hallway, and then she dropped it quickly. She wasn't ashamed of Maura, not at all. But her mom was very closed minded, traditional, and old fashioned, Jane only needed one reason to not tell her mom though, Catholicism.

"Morning, Ma."

"Good Morning, Mrs. Rizzoli."

"Good Morning girls."

"You're cooking French toast, what's the occasion?"

"No occasion. I'm just happy this morning." She'd known that she and Frank were getting a divorce for years now, they were pretty much separated. "Oh, and Lt. Cavanaugh and I are going to lunch.

"I see.."

"I came to wake you two up this morning, but you looked so peaceful."

"You went into my room?" Her brows furrowed.

"Yes, and I'm really surprised I found you in the position you were in. You never let anyone hold you like that. Even when you were a baby, you'd punch me and take the bottle from my hands."

"I did not."

Angela smiled, but didn't respond.

"I did not." She said to Maura.

"I'm sure you didn't." She smirked and sat next to Frankie on the couch.

"Ma, can I go to Maur's house today?"

"Yes. And are you sure you're okay.. The boys seem unphased by this."

"We've known that it was coming for a while now, I guess we're all just happy that he's gone."

"But Jane you loved your father, more than your brothers."

"Loved, exactly.. I did, until he showed us who he really is. I don't care for him anymore. Everything he's done could've been handled in a better way, he did this by choice. I'm just glad the boys are happier now, I haven't see them this happy since you bought the ps3." She laughed softly. "It'll take some time, but everything will fall in place."

Angela nodded, tears flooding her eyes. She knew Jane was never comfortable talking about her emotions, and she saw exactly how she avoided it with this conversation. But she saw how strong and wise Jane was while dealing with this situation.

"You're right. Okay."

"Okay?" She rubbed her mom's back.

"Okay."

She headed to the living room and watched Frankie and Tommy's gameplay. "Tommy, you suck. You have 3 kills, 1 assist, and 15 deaths. I'm up next. Gonna kick some Spetnaz ass, Black Ops style."

She sat on the couch, her arm behind Maura on top of the couch, and Maura's hand running up and down Jane's left leg. It wasn't evident, but it wasn't secretive either, especially to close a observer. They weren't doing it purposely, it was natural.


	14. This Cannot Be Good

"I can't believe this is the last week of school."

"I can't believe I forgot to study for this test."

"You forgot to study!"

"Umm.. Yeah. Let me cheat off your paper?" Jane hadn't told Maura the real reason she hadn't studied. She got a part time job helping her mom on some days. And after working she usually didn't have energy for anything else. But she'd always call Maura before she went to sleep.

Maura rolled her eyes as they walked into the classroom. The teacher handed them their test papers as soon as they sat.

Jane looked at her paper.

"_The fuck is this bullshit_?" Jane whispered to Maura.

"_Pre- Ap Biology_."

Jane yawned. "_I don't remember learning this_."

"_We didn't, he didn't teach it_."

"_Well, what do you have for number one_?"

"_Shh.." _She slid her paper closer to Jane, so she could see the answers more clearly.

…

"Wooh, that was hard work." Jane said as they left the classroom.

"All you did was copy."

"I know, those scantrons are smaller than a bitch though."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Don't worry… I missed like 4 questions so it didn't look too copied." She grabbed Maura's hand and made them face each other. You're amazing." She laced their fingers. "Thank you. " She leaned down and gave Maura a quick kiss. "Let's go out."

"What for?"

"Well, for us passing the 9th grade, we haven't got report cards yet, but we already know. And I may not be able to shower and enlighten you with vast knowledge, but I can however buy you something to eat."

"Okay, but I'm buying."

"I made the suggestion, I'll buy, Maur."

"Jane, I know how you are. You don't want any help, you don't like asking people for things, because you think it'll make you look weak and poor, you also think that it'll mean you'll owe me something and I'll hold that over your head for the rest of our lives. Why you think like that's is beyond me, I don't quite understand. But you know you don't have to do that with me, I don't care about any of those things. Money is a materialistic object. It's okay.. Remember it's just me and you here." She squoze Jane's hand.

"You and I." Jane corrected.

Jane knew Maura was right, any money she had had been going to her mom. But since she got a job last month she'd been borrowing less money from Jane. Things weren't bad for the Rizzoli family, but they weren't too good either. Jane hid most of it from Maura, she didn't want to burden her, and she believed it was for the best.

11th Grade

Maura and Jane had been dating for a year and some months now, it was complete bliss for both of them for the most part. The Rizzoli family hadn't struggled anymore. Angela was engaged to Cavanaugh and were getting married in a few months. He made sure that Jane, Frankie, and Tommy were well taken care of, and he treated them like his own children. They hadn't seen their father since that night, and they honestly didn't care. Jane had been right, things had fallen into place.

Maura walked behind Jane and put her arms around her waist.

"If this isn't Maura, you're going to get punched in the face."

Maura moved her hands from around Jane's waist and moved them to her butt.

"Maur.."

"What.. It looks rounder."

"Are you saying I gained weight!?"

"You need to gain a few pounds, much too skinny for my taste." She joked.

"You weren't complaining last night."

"I didn't even see you las…" She caught on. "…Very funny, Jane."

"Umm huh." Jane finally turned around, she snaked her arms around Maura's waist and pulled her closer. She caught Maura's lips in a kiss that started off chaste, but ended up a little less than that. Jane pulled back first.

"Well someone's happy to see me." Maura said.

"What's makes you say that?"

"You practically just swallowed my face." She laughed.

"Well, you liked it."

"I did in fact."

"I almost forget, here." She handed Maura a box.

"You did not get me a gift."

"I did."

"What's the occasion?"

"No occasion, it's a 'just because' gift."

"You got me fudge clusters!"

"Baby, they're fudge clusters, not a million bucks.. Don't look so happy."

"I have a million bucks, and I have the best girlfriend ever, however, I had no fudge clusters."

"Well your life is fulfilled now. And I have served my purpose."

She nudged Jane, and opened the bag. "You want some?" She grinned like a fool. She should not have been this happy to receive fudge cluster, but she was.

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus.. You offered me some of your fudge clusters? You must be trying to get me naked."

"If you're lucky." She winked.

"Look, something else is in there."

She reached into the bag deeper. "You.." She looked up at Jane who was smiling. "You.."

"Mmm Hmm."

She practically jumped on Jane. She kissed her repeatedly. She was over the moon ecstatic right now. "I can't believe you.."

"Believe it… Gimmee your books."

"How'd you?"

"Just let it be Maur.. Just let it be."

….

They got into Maura's car, and her phone vibrated as she got a text message. She looked over to Jane.

"My father wants to see us."

"Us?"

"He says me and Jane. You are Jane."

"This cannot be good." She breathed deeply.

Jane sat on the couch, her left arm around Maura. Maura sat next to her, her right hand rubbing up and down Jane's left thigh.

"When is your dad supposed to get here?"

"4:00, he's never late." She smiled,

Jane checked her watch. 3:50.

"You nervous?" Maura questioned.

"A little. He hasn't told us what this was about.. It's a little worrying, the mystery."

"No need to be nervous, my father's a very calm, loving man."

"To you, yeah. Not so much to everyone else. You're his little girl, and I'm the enemy."

"You're exaggerating."

"I'm dating his daughter."

"But he doesn't know."

"He will, he has his ways. And it's been 1 year and 5 months, he'll find out eventually."

"You're right, maybe we should just tell him."

"No!" She exclaimed, causing Maura to jump. She calmed her voice. "I'm sorry Maur.. Can you tell him later, while I'm gone."

"I want you to be here when I tell him. He won't hurt you." She pouted.

"Yes he will."

"Not if I tell him not to, and I will."

"You think he knows that we found your mom?"

Maura stopped rubbing Jane's leg.

"I don't know." Her voice was soft.

Jane moved her hand from behind Maura and grabbed the hand that was previously rubbing her hand and intertwined them.

"Baby, we won't bring it up."

"What if he does?"

"Deny the fuck out of it."

"I can't lie, Jane. You know that."

"Well I'll talk for you. Just sit quiet if he brings it up." She squeezed Maura's hand.

"Thanks baby."

"Anything for you, sweetness."

Maura leaned in and kissed Jane's cheek.

They heard a key in the door and they untwined their fingers, and jumped a little more apart.

Paddy, Colin, and Jimmy walked into the house together.

"Maura. Jane." Doyle said.

Jimmy and Colin nodded to them.

"Hey Daddy. Hey Colin, Jimmy." She smiled at them.

"Hello Mr. Doyle." "Jimmy, Colin." She nodded to them.

He pointed to index and middle finger to his office. Jimmy and Colin nodded, then went into the room and closed the door for behind them.

"Gayzzoli is nervous." Jimmy said.

"I know, they're so busted." Colin responded.

Girls... I need to speak to you about something."

"What is it daddy?"


	15. We Need A Plan

"The move."

Maura tensed and Jane noticed. "I'm not sure we follow, Mr. Doyle."

"It's just the move." He said bluntly.

"I'm not moving! No."

"Maura.." Paddy started.

"No. I will not leave Jane here."

"Whaa.."

"Why are you doing this daddy?"

"It's for your own safety.."

"..How long?"

"About a good.."

"..No!"

"Maura, if it keeps you safe, I think you should go." Jane said.

"No..."

"We can Skype every single day, for hours."

"It's not the same."

"I know." She gave a sad smile. "But that just means when you get back, we'll be ecstatic to see each other. It'll make us miss each other, value each other more, and all of that crap."

"Maybe.. But I really don't want to leave."

He nodded, and twisted the ring on his finger. "Well, Maur.."

"..I."

"..Maura, stop interrupting. Calm down.. The FEDS are looking for me, and you have to leave. Me and the rest of the mob have business to take care of. And I will not have you around for that I can't.

She breathed a breath of relief. "Why?"

"It's for the best. I'm only thinking of you."

Tears started forming. "Where am I going?"

"Europe."

She held back the tears, she couldn't be that far away from Jane for that long. But she would not let her father see her cry, this is his fault. She's leaving because of him, he would not get to see her cry.

"How long?"

"Until the investigation is over, and when the business is finished."

She furrowed her brows.

"But your brother, Johnny, and Jimmy will all be there too.. Don and the rest will be with me."

Maura sighed. "Then why'd you need Jane?"

"I know that you two are dating, I thought she should know too."

"Okay." She said it as though she didn't care, but she did. She wanted to know how he knew, and why he hadn't told her. But she didn't care too much to talk to him at this very moment. She wanted to keep her words short, so he could tell how upset she was.

"I'm really sorry Maura."

She nodded, as he walked from the room.

They went up into Maura's room. Jane plopped down on the bed first.

Maura paced around the room. "Why am I pacing?" She was nervous and she did not want to leave.

"Crazy I guess." She stopped pacing and turned to look at Jane. She climbed on the bed, and straddled Jane's waist.

"Crazy?"

"Maybe a little bit."

"I'm quite sane, actually."

"That's what all the loons say." She joked. "Have you come up with a plan to see your mom?"

"No, I'm working on it though."

"Well she lives in New York, and you're going all the way to Europe."

"I know."

"Are you going to find her before you go or after you get back?"

"I don't know." Her voice was soft and low.

Jane put her hands on either side of Maura's thighs. "I'm going to miss you so much, Maur. We can't just act like everything's okay, and that you aren't leaving, because you are."

New tears started to form in Maura's eyes. Maura opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted..

'_Your mother is calling. YOUR MOTHER IS CALLING! What does she want! WHAT DOES SHE WANT!' _

Jane's phone goes off as she gets a call from her mom, she texts her instead and places her phone on the bed.

Maura shakes her head at Jane's ringtone. "What's my ringtone?"

Jane picks up her phone again.

"This is when you text me."

'_I've found a reason for me. To change who I used to be, a reason to start over new. And the reason is you.'_

"This is when you call me."

'_Stick your heart inside of my chest. Keep it warm here while we rest. Tell them this love hasn't changed me, hasn't changed me at all. The same as I love you, you'll always love me too. This love isn't good unless it's me and you_.'

"What's mine?" She questioned Maura, her eyebrows raised as Maura lifted up from her and pulled her phone from her back pocket.

"This is the ringtone."

'_Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me. Lying on the floor surrounded, surrounded. Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you? Just a little late, you found me, you found me.'_

"And this is the notification."

'_So maybe it's true, that I can't live without you. And maybe two is better than one. But there's so much time, to figure out the rest in my life. And you've already got me coming undone. And I'm thinking two, is better than one_.'

"That's sweet." Jane said, a smirk on her face.

Maura threw her phone on the bed.

She leaned down, to hover over Jane's lips. "You're sweet."

"Dammit, how'd you find out!?"

"_Intuition."_

Jane could smell the chocolate from the fudge clusters still in her mouth. The aroma was intoxicating. It can't get any better than Maura Isles and chocolate, unless it's Maura Isles covered in chocolate.

Jane leaned in inching closer to close the space between her and Maura. She grunted when Maura moved back.

"I can't leave."

"Babe.. You really don't have a choice."

"Yes, I do."

"Care to share.."

"I don't know yet, he hasn't even said when I'm supposed to leave." She lifted from Jane to move beside her., she lifted Jane's arm so she could lay on it, she put her hand on Jane's ribs and rested her head on Jane's chest. "I really don't want to go Jane." She began to cry.

"Don't cry beautiful." She pulled Maura closer into her. "It's not the end of the world." She rasped. She kissed Maura's forehead, and Maura shook harder.

Jane brought her left arm over to Maura's back, reaching her right hand she brought Maura as close as possible while holding her. She felt a hot tear roll down her own face.

"I.. I can't live without you, Jane." She sobbed.

"I can't live without you beautiful." She squoze her harder. "We'll get through this." She nodded, trying so desperately to convince Maura as well as herself.

"How…" She sobbed. "Jane?"

Jane thought long and hard. Maura thought Jane had forgotten the question because of how long it was taking her to answer.

"Marry me."

Maura took a deep breath. She eased out of Jane's hold, and looked down at her. "What?" She wiped her tears away, and held her head. She had a migraine from crying so hard for so long.

Jane shrugged. "I don't know Maur." She bit her lip regretting what she had said. "It's a way that we'll be connected no matter where we are. Marriage is the unity of two people, and… I don't know. Never mind, it's stupid."

Maura laid her head back on Jane's chest, and Jane held her again.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Tears were still coming from Maura's eyes, and Jane's eyes burned and her head hurt from trying to hold back her own tears.

"You know marriage is forever, right?" Maura finally broke the silence.

"Yes I know. I wouldn't marry someone if I thought there was even a slight possibility that we'd get a divorce. But many people who get divorces don't think they'll ever get one."

"So you want to be with me forever?"

"I honestly cannot see myself being married to anyone else. And I definitely can't see me without you in the future." She squoze Maura tighter to her, as if she was protecting her from the world, or if that'd be the last time she'd ever see her.

"Me either." She ran her hand under Jane's shirt and rested it on her stomach. "We could get married."

"Are you serious?"

She shrugged. "We need parental consent, though, I forgot.. And we're definitely not going to get it.."

"I have a better plan.."


	16. Always Forever

Maura went downstairs and headed into her father's office. She was angry, but she tried to calm herself before knocking on the door. "Father."

"Come in."

She opened the door and entered the room. "Where's Colin?"

"Maura, you've been crying."

"Yes." She said bitterly. "Where's Colin?"

"He and Jimmy left." He furrowed his brow. "Why have you been crying?"

"You're making me leave everything I know behind. I'm not the reason this is happening, this is not my fault. I was always alone, I had no friends! I wanted them sure, but I didn't need them. But Jane, I need Jane."

"Maura, I know you think that…"

"…No, I know, I don't think."

"Maur..."

"No, just..." She took a breath. "What day am I leaving?"

"Saturday morning."

"Saturday! That only gives me a week with Jane. How long will I be gone?"

"You know, I would think you would care about spending time with people other than Jane before you go. And I told you I'm not sure. Months, maybe years."

She shook her head. "I'm going to be 18 in 2 years, and I will not remain there when I am, I'm coming back, no matter what." She furrowed her brows. "And who else would I spend time with?"

"Me."

"You don't want to spend time with me, you just don't want me to be with Jane."

"Maura I always wanted to spend time with you, but my job doesn't allow me to do that. I try when I can.. And I just don't think it's healthy for you two to be so attached to each other at this age. For Christ's sake you're only 16."

"Jane and I are quite mature for our age.."

"I know you think that, but sometimes things don't always go as planned."

"Jane and I have both said we'll make it work no matter what. Whether we're just friends or more.." She tilted her head. "Is that what happened with you and my mother?"

"I suppose."

"Please explain."

He opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

"Where is she?"

"That's complicated."

"Why hasn't she tried to find me?"

He looked down.

"Is she dead?"

"No."

"So, where is she?"

He didn't answer.

She shook her head and turned around, heading to the door.

"You're spending too much time together, Maura."

She spoke without turning around. "No, we're not. Jane has basketball or field hockey practice almost every day after school. She doesn't leave them until 8. We only have lunch together, no classes this year. She's always gone, and I rejoined the chess club.. I'm #1 in the state, national competition is in 2 weeks, or it would've been, but I won't be here for it, obviously… I see her maybe 2 hours a day, except on the weekends and sometimes Fridays. So no, we don't spend too much time together."

"I didn't kn.."

"..Jane and I are heading out.." She left his office and shut the door behind her. "I hope you're happy." She mumbled under her breath.

"I'm not, Maur." He replied, even though he knew she couldn't hear him.

"You ready Jane?" She called upstairs.

"Yeah Maur, 2 minutes." Jane yelled downstairs.

Maura headed outside and sat on the steps waiting for Jane to come out. She hadn't heard Jane come outside or close the door.

Jane sat down next to her and laced their fingers. Maura pulled her earphones out with her free hand.

"What's wrong, Maur?"

"I'm leaving Saturday." She said softly.

"This Saturday?!" Jane said sullenly.

She nodded.

A tear rolled down Maura's cheek. Jane quickly wiped it with her free hand.

"Hey, no, no, none of that. No more crying."

"I'm trying not to. It's just that my amygdala and my lacrimal gland have a connection that I can't really control."

She kissed Maura's cheek. "Everything is going to be fine, Maur."

"You can't know that."

"But I do... Remember we said we could get through anything, we promised that we would."

"I do… But sometimes things don't always go as planned."

Jane furrowed her brows, Maura was reasonable, yes. But she was optimistic as well, never negative. So where had this sudden negativity come from? "Did he tell you that?" She questioned.

She nodded. "He says we're too attached, and we spend too much time together. But he, he doesn't get it."

"How long did he say you were leaving for, months, weeks?"

"Months, maybe years."

Jane took a deep breath. "I wish I could go back in time."

"Why?"

"So we'd have more time together.. I mean we were in the 8th grade when we became friends. We missed out on 8 years of this."

"You know, I had a crush on you." She smiled as she remembered.

"Oh, yeah? When?"

"8th grade.. When we were only friends. I always thought that you were aesthetically pleasing. And you're voice, very hot." She nodded.

"It's gotten deeper, huskier and raspier since then though."

"It's gotten hotter." She laughed lightly.

"I had a crush on you too."

"Well... Don't keep me waiting then."

"Kindergarten. You had these beautiful, what I only knew as green, eyes. You had these cute long blonde pigtails. You had this sweet look on your face like all the time. And you were the most independent person in the class.. You never gave into peer pressure. You didn't eat glue, paint on yourself, or eat snacks while we were supposed to be napping like everyone else did... In the back of my mind I always thought 'Good for her.'"

"You're ridiculous, Jane."

"Even in 2nd grade when everyone used the word 'righteous' too much. And in high school when everyone pretty much dressed the same."

"Righteous?"

"Oh god."

They laughed. Maura turned to face Jane.

"That's what I like to hear." Jane said.

Maura leaned in and kissed Jane softly.

"I love you."

"I love you."

"Always."

Jane leaned in and kissed her again. "Forever."

Maura took a deep breath and laid her head on Jane's shoulder.

"You still wanna go through with this Maur?"

"I'm positive, do you doubt this now?"

"Never. You want me to come with you for support, and nothing will stop me. I'll always be here when you need me, no matter what." She kissed Maura's hand.

They sat silent for a little.

"_When I leave I know things will not be the same when I return_." Maura thought to herself.

"Hey, stop thinking so much. Just let it be." She lifted and pulled something out of her pocket, Maura lifted her head allowing Jane up. "Sorry." She apologized for making Maura move. "I got you something."

"Really?"

"Really. It's nothing big though. It's way smaller than that turtle I bought you."

"Tortoise." She corrected.

"Yeah, yeah.. I definitely need to hear the speech about the differences again." She said sarcastically. "It's just a ring, and a necklace. Both of them are mine. I just want you to have something that belongs to me."

She put the ring on Maura's left hand on her ring finger.

"This is beautiful, Jane."

"It's not much. But M & J are engraved on it so you never forget me." She lifted the necklace and Maura lowered her head allowing Jane to put it on her.

"Jane, are you serious?" She furrowed her brows. "I'd never forget you. You're the love of my life."

"But we're young." She squeezed Maura's hand. "You're gonna go to France and some suave ass is going be all alluring and crap and he's gonna entice you."

"How do you figure that?"

"He'll have an accent and he'll speak a different language that you'll understand. You'll think his accent is sexy, and etcetera."

"You have an accent too, and you can speak a different language that I can understand."

"Yeah, but it's different."

"No it isn't. You're worried and so am I. The same thoughts are running through our heads, so we should just talk about them." She lifted her hair so that the necklace fell on her neck.

"I really don't want you to go."

"And I really don't want to go." She kissed Jane chastely.

"What are you doing to me woman!" Jane shakes her head. "Let's just get the mushy stuff outta the way, okay. So we can enjoy this week."

Maura nodded. "Okay."

She took a deep breath. "I used to sit in my room and just hate the world. Thinking about how everything sucked in my life, and how it was never going to get better for me. I didn't have anything to live for, well I felt like I didn't. I was going to join the force fresh out of high school, the police academy first of course. But I was going to catch the killers, the bad guys.. And if I died in the process that was fine, it was okay, it just meant that it was my time.."

"But since you, everything has changed.. It just has, I don't know how to explain it. But I want to live, like actually live. I want to have this long, fulfilling life with you. You make me feel inside. I thought I would feel dead inside forever, but you've shown me otherwise. I wanna give you everything and I'd give you anything. I want you to be as happy as possible in life. I want you to be happy with me. Get married, have a couple of little Jauras running around."

Maura laughed softly.

"I love hearing you laugh, it's the best sound I've ever heard. Your voice is better than vanilla, and smoother than silk. Your eyes are so captivating, enchanting even. I've never seen a more beautiful human being in my life, and I know I won't. Your beauty is natural, you're stunning.. And I don't think you even know it." Maura looked down. Jane put her free hand under her chin and Maura's looked up. "You're beautiful, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." She kissed Maura's forehead, and Maura closed her eyes at the contact, taking it all in.

"Jane.." She softly sobbed.

"No crying Maura. You're eyes are already bloodshot red, and I hate seeing you cry." She kissed Maura's hand. "My beautiful enchantress.. Though you're breathtaking even when you cry."

She inhaled sharply, choking back a sob. "Jane I love you so much, and I can't believe I have to leave you here. I was alone all the time. I didn't need company, I wanted it, but I didn't need it. Everyone found me strange, I thought I'd be alone all of my life, and I got used to the idea. But you abruptly came into my life and changed me so much. You make me feel accepted; you make me feel like I belong somewhere. And I feel like it's with you, I belong with you."

"When I'm not with you, I find myself longing for your company." She smiled sadly. "I never found myself longing for anyone's company besides my brother's; he was always here no matter what. But so are you, you've been here ever since we became friends, and I desire your company, crave it. I love you more than I love anything else. I want us to be together forever, though I know forever is impossible. So, for as long as we both shall live." She smiled a little.

"I hate the fact that I'm going to be away from you for so long." She put their clasped hands over her heart. "I love you so much and I feel like I'm in pure ecstasy when I'm with you. It feels rapturous... I'd like to marry you, have enthusiastic children running around the house calling me Mommy, you'll be Ma. That'd be amazing, wondrous." She kissed Jane's hand. "I find you miraculous. Sometimes I'm afraid that I'll wake up and this' will all be a dream. I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"I don't know what I did to deserve you. I walk around with this guilt hanging over me. And I don't know what I have to feel guilty about. But when I'm with you that's gone, I feel free. I'm here Maur, and I'm real, but sometimes I think this is too good to be true, or at least it was." Hot tears ran down her face, Maura wiped them just as fast as they came.

"Hey, no crying remember."

"It's hard!" She stood up, Maura got up with her. Jane grabbed her in a tight embrace. "I'm going to miss you so much baby." Her body shuddered, and Maura held her tighter.

"I'm going to miss you my raven haired beauty."

Jane gripped her tighter, just wanting more contact. She buried her face in Maura's neck.

"Hey beauty, you'll do just fine without me." She kissed Jane's neck.

Jane shook her head. "No, no I won't. I know I've been trying to be all cool about this, trying to keep my composure but I don't care anymore." She cried harder. "And it hurts knowing we won't be together, Maur."

"I know, and I'm sorry I can't do anything to change this." She gripped Jane tighter. "I want to stay here with you forever. I promise I don't want to be anywhere else except beside you Jane. You mean so much to me.. I swear."

"You're my better half Maura."

"You're my better half Jane."

Maura loosened her grip on Jane, and Jane backed out of the embrace a little.

"Here." Maura took the ring off of her right hand. And placed it on Jane's left hand on her ring finger.

"I can't take this, Maur."

"Yes you can."

"It's crazy expensive."

"It's only money... It belonged to me, and I'm giving it to you. J & M are initialed on it as well." What a coincidence. "No take backs." She quickly said after.

Jane nodded and laughed. "You're my soul mate. I know so."

"And you're mine. My one and only." Maura entwined their hands.

Jane leaned in and caught Maura's lips with her own. In the most passionate kiss they'd ever shared. It was perfect. Their lips moved in sync with each other's as if they had practiced this kiss thousands of times. When they pulled back Maura touched her lips with two fingers, they were throbbing, swollen and pink from the kiss.

"I love you.. Always." Jane stated.

"I love you.. Forever."

**A/N: Okay, sorry for not updating. School has been crazy, seriously. The amount of work is actually ridonkulous. And I'm also I'm like really lazy, and also I'm sleep deprived... But, no excuses. I'm supposed to be doing AP Chemistry homework right now, but it's really frickin' complicated, so I quit. My brain needed a break from that, so I wrote this really quickly. If it sucks blame the Chemistry for discombobulating my mind. I haven't actually read over it, I just typed it and uploaded.**


End file.
